The Lion's Stripes
by Injustice Redhead
Summary: AU. Harry is saved from Voldemort by an unknown creature after the Third Task, but is injured a way that has strange consequences that impact the life of Harry. As he enters his fifth year, Harry gains new allies whilst struggling to control his new powers, and notices he has had a friend hiding in plain sight. Harry/Katie Bell pairing. Post GOF and AU afterwards. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1- Harry's Big, Hairy Saviour

_A/N-Oh hello there, didn't see you there! You might be wondering, "What the bloody hell is this? And why isn't IR working on 'Gryffindor's Inheritance?'" Well, funny you should ask that but not to worry, but I am still working on that however this idea came to me so suddenly and I loved it so much that I just had to start on it and share with you guys!_

 _You also might be thinking, "Why the bloody hell does it say Harry Potter/Katie Bell?!" WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Well, funny you should ask but I've always liked the ships that most people don't expect, and Harry/Katie just happens to be my favourite unconventional ship. Also we know so little of Katie Bell that I thought it would be a refreshing take on the Harry Potter story, plus there's so little Harry/Katie stories out there that don't involve loveless sex and other strange things, and I thought it high time to rectify that problem! So grow a pair and deal with it and if ya don't like it sod off! Anyways enjoy the story!_

 **Chapter 1- Harry's Big, Hairy Saviour**

Death. That's what Harry thought was the only way to escape the excruciating pain of Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse. And why not? Cedric already lay dead a few yards away from him. His parents were dead as well, so why not? He knew why not though. He had his friends waiting for him back at Hogwarts. Ron, Hermione, the rest of the Weasleys, Dumbledore, the list could go on. So Harry bared as best he could against Voldemort's curse.

Voldemort finally lifted the curse from Harry and chuckled darkly. Harry's nerves were on fire and his muscles spasmed uncontrollably, causing his limbs to twitch. Harry struggled to get up, his limbs barely capable of obeying his commands. Luckily Harry still clutched his wand, though he had been holding it so tight that the knuckles on his right hand had split, and blood was oozing from the wounds. Harry ignored the pain and stood up slowly, noticing he was completely surrounded by Voldemort's returned Death Eaters.

"Now Harry, I believe you have been taught a little of the art of dueling," mocked Voldemort, his high-pitched voice sending searing pain through Harry's scar. Harry blinked away the tears and stood defiantly across the graveyard clearing at his most hated enemy. "Now, if you remember the first step, then you know to bow to your opponent," said Voldemort, bowing to Harry in an overly-dramatic fashion. Harry, however stood straight, glaring at Voldemort.

"Tsk, tsk Harry. Surely Voldemort taught you some manners? I said _bow,_ " Voldemort shot an Imperius Curse at Harry, which struck him in the chest. Immediately, Harry was overcome with a feeling of complete bliss, his pain washed away, leaving Harry with a sense of numbness.

" _Bow,"_ said a voice in Harry's head. Harry was ready to comply with the voice's command but stopped short. _Why did he have to bow?_

" _Bow,"_ said the voice again, this time with a little more force.

 _Wasn't Harry supposed to be doing something?_ Harry felt the first pieces of self-consciousness float back into his mind and he began to resist the Imperius Curse.

" _Bow,"_ said the voice once more.

 _No..._ Once again, Harry's willpower began to gather in more strength and he tried to force the curse off himself.

" _BOW!"_ screamed the voice.

"NO!" bellowed Harry, finally throwing the curse off himself. Voldemort looked shocked and, if Harry's guess was correct, so were the other Death Eaters whose faces were still hidden behind their terrifying masks. Voldemort was the first to recover and a wicked smile split across his monstrous features.

"Well done Harry, well done!" He exclaimed. "Nobody has ever thrown off my Imperius Curse before!" Harry's only response was a glare. "Now, where were we?" continued Voldemort. "Ah, yes. Now, we duel." Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at Harry, while Harry did the same to Voldemort.

" _Expelliarmus!"_

" _Avada Kedavra!"_

The two spells leapt from the wands and slammed together, creating a magical beam of light. From Harry's end, the beam glowed a bright red, while Voldemort's glowed the sickly green light of the Killing Curse. Where the two spells met, a golden orb of light pulsed and would slowly travel up and down the length of the beam whenever one of the two combatants lost their concentration or forced more power into their spells.

Harry struggled to hold himself against the sheer power of Voldemort. He was simply too strong, but Harry persisted despite the aching in his wand arm. His arm was beginning to shake uncontrollably from the force of the spells, so he grabbed hold of his wand with his left hand. The shaking lessened considerably, much to Harry's relief, but soon the shaking began to pick up the pace again.

Harry noticed, however, that when he held onto his wand with two hands that the golden orb in the middle began to stray further and further down Voldemort's line. Voldemort too noticed the changing tide of the battle and shrieked angrily as he tried to force more power into his curse.

A resounding _BOOM_ shook the ground all of a sudden and blew Harry off his feet and into the air. He smashed into a tombstone behind him, knocking the air out of his lungs as he impacted. He heard a loud crack when he landed and fervently hoped it was just the stone, but when he landed on the ground he knew that a few of his ribs were broken.

Dazed and sore, Harry didn't see his enemies approach until it was too late. Suddenly he was lifted into the air again and slammed into the same tombstone that his fall (and his ribs) earlier. Unable to move, Harry looked up with terrified eyes and stared straight into the gleaming red snake eyes of Voldemort.

"A valiant effort Harry, but I'm afraid it wasn't enough to save you," said Voldemort with a tone that almost sounded like respect. He raised his wand and murmured "Farewell, Harry Potter," while Harry closed his eyes and said a silent prayer to his parents.

The expected curse never came however, when Voldemort was interrupted by the mighty roar of some huge beast. The Death Eaters all drew their wands at the sound, their heads darting back and forth as the searched for the source of the noise. Even Voldemort's eyes glanced to and fro, while Harry looked on in confusion.

Suddenly one of the Death Eaters furthest from Harry and Voldemort shrieked in horror when a massive humanoid beast jumped on top of him and started tearing into his shoulder with its enormous teeth. at least, Harry assumed it had massive teeth as the beast was wearing a long cloak and hood, although Harry could see a long tufted tail sticking out as it swished side to side. All the other Death Eaters stood stunned as they watched the beast tear apart their companion until Voldemort screamed for them to kill it.

The beast threw the remains of the Death Eater at Voldemort, who was forced to deflect the body with his wand, which cancelled the spell pinning Harry to the tombstone. He dropped to the ground in a heap, but was still able to watch the beast tear into the other Death Eaters with frightening ferocity.

The beast paused for a moment and looked at the stunned Harry. He noticed that the beast had glowing ice blue eyes that made Harry feel like it was boring into his very soul.

"What are you waiting for?" boomed the beast, whose voice and a deep and very distinctive growl to it. "MOVE IT HARRY!" It shouted before resuming its fight with the Death Eaters and Voldemort. Knocked out his trance, Harry stood up and sprinted away from the battle. Behind him he heard Voldemort shrieking for his followers to recapture Harry.

Harry ran faster than he had ever before in his life. Faster than the time he was pursued by the Basilisk in his Chamber of Secrets, faster than when he and Hermione were chased by their former Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor Remus Lupin, who happened to be a werewolf. All those other moments seemed like child's play compared to what was happening at that very moment. Harry corrected his path towards the body of Cedric Diggory, while at the same time shouting " _Accio cup!"_

However, he was waylaid when he felt something very large, very heavy and very _hairy_ slam into him from behind. Grunting as the wind was taken out of him for the umpteenth time that night, Harry froze when he came face to face with the beast.

Under its hood was the head of a lion, though its top canines were overlong and were easily visible despite its mouth being closed. Harry could see the muscles bulging underneath its cloak and hood, and it tail swished the air angrily. Its eyes however captivated Harry. There was hardly any sign of the mind of a simple animal, instead a keen intellect and cunning shone through it's piercing blue eyes, which glared at Harry briefly before softening. Harry noticed its cloak was soaked in blood, whether it was the lion man's own or the Death Eaters, Harry wasn't sure. Probably a combination of both.

"Sorry for doing this," it growled. Before Harry could ask why, the lion man sunk its teeth into Harry's shoulder. Harry screamed in agony as teeth sliced through skin and muscle like nothing. Harry's eyes were blinded by whiteness as he felt something excruciating enter his bloodstream and slowly start traveling through his body. Then, as soon as it started, the lion man released Harry and again urged him to escape for it lifted itself from Harry's body and charged back into the battle.

Pain coursing through his body, Harry slowly lifted himself from the ground and stumbled back to Cedric's body. He once again summoned the Tri-Wizard cup back to him, clutching Cedric's shirt and Harry, along with Cedric's body, vanished from the graveyard of Little Hangleton.

 _A/N- An interesting start maybe? Well anyways hope you enjoyed this first chapter and please leave a review as your input will be gratefully accepted and taken into consideration!_


	2. Chapter 2- Strange Wounds

_A/N- I should probably put in a disclaimer here before I get sued *chuckles nervously*_

 _I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters in this fic. All characters and the wonderful Wizarding World belongs to the lovely JK Rowling. I'm just using her world for my enjoyment and in no way intend to make a profit from it._

 _Now that that's out of the way let's get on with this!_

 **Chapter 2- Strange Wounds**

Harry was aware of two things when he hit the ground hard after the portkey dropped him and Cedric off. The first being that his left shoulder felt hot and pulsed with agony as blood pumped through his bloodstream. Then again, his whole body was aching everywhere, but his shoulder felt the worst. The second were the sounds of loud cheering and heavy footsteps coming his way. Harry risked opening his eyes and found his vision to be blurry from the pain he was still feeling, but he knew he was back at the entrance to the maze.

He could feel the ground reverberating beneath his body as a mass of shapes descended upon him like a swirling wave of colours, and his grip on Cedric's body tightened.

He was aware of someone standing behind him and crouched down, laying a hand on Harry's (relatively) uninjured shoulder.

"Harry, are you alright?" asked the person behind him. _Dumbledore?_ thought Harry.

"Voldemort's back!" cried Harry. the effort straining his vocal cords. "Voldemort's back! He killed Cedric! He told me to bring his body back! I couldn't leave him, not there!"

"Albus, what's going- Merlin's beard! Diggory, he's dead!" Whoever said that shouted it rather loudly, as several gasps filled the air and the sounds around Harry grew louder as chaos ensued.

"Harry, let go of him,"

"No! No!" shouted Harry angrily, struggling against the unknown person's arms as his strength faded. Amidst the crowd surrounding them, Harry heard a woman's shriek of horror as people began to notice Cedric's lifeless form and the unfolding drama before them.

"Albus, Amos and his wife are coming down right now- try to hold him off until we can-"

"I'll take him up Dumbledore."

"Harry needs to stay here."

"Keep everyone in their seats! A boy's just been killed!"

"Potter needs to get to the infirmary, he's injured."

"Harry, stay here," said the calm voice of Dumbledore.

A strong pair of hands yanked Harry up from Cedric's body and held him tightly before leading a still struggling Harry away from the crowd. Harry glanced upwards and briefly saw Ron and Hermione giving him concerned looks. Next to them stood the three Gryffindor Quidditch Chasers, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell holding their hands over their mouths as tears streaked down their faces.

"It's alright son, I've got you," said the gruff voice of the man carrying Harry away.

"Dumbledore said to stay," Harry protested weakly.

"You need to rest. Come on lad, just a little further."

Harry was aware that he was being led back into the castle, but was still unsure as to where he was being taken or who was holding him. The clanking on the stone pavement every second step indicated to Harry that it was probably Professor Moody taking him to his office, but the sheer pain he was feeling made Harry's vision start to blur so he was unable to confirm his suspicions.

Climbing a staircase, the pair finally arrived at a classroom door, which was opened by the man holding Harry up. He was ushered into the office and roughly pushed into an armchair and he heard the office door close and lock before his companion disappeared behind another door. He reappeared a few moments later and pushed a flask into Harry's quivering hands, ordering the boy to drink. Too tired to argue, Harry downed the flask's contents and his face screwed up as the unpleasant potion disappeared down his throat. Whatever the potion was, it cleared his vision and Harry found himself staring up at the deformed face of Professor Moody.

"What happened boy?" asked the retired Auror.

"The cup, it was a portkey," murmured Harry. "It took Cedric and I to a graveyard... Wormtail, Peter Pettigrew, that is, killed Cedric and performed a ritual to bring Voldemort back. He took some of my blood," he added, showing Professor Moody the bleeding cut to his wrist.

"Did you fight him?"

"Y-yeah, we dueled but something-"

"What was it like?" cut in Moody.

"What?"

"The Dark Lord! What was it like to stand in his presence?"

Harry looked at his teacher in confusion. "I-I don't know. He was terrifying," he said. The old Auror had a look that Harry could only describe as pure giddiness. Something wasn't adding up.

"Were there others? The Death Eaters, did they return?"

"Yes," said Harry. "Loads of them..."

"How did he treat them?" Moody asked quietly. "Did he forgive them?"

"I... what?" asked Harry wildly.

"Did he forgive the scum who hid at his downfall while the others went to Azkaban for their undying faith in the Dark Lord?!" shouted Moody, his shaking getting more out of control as his face began to contort strangely.

"I don't know!" exclaimed Harry.

"How did you escape the Dark Lord's clutches. Surely you could not have escaped by yourself!"

Harry thought for a moment. "There was something, a monster I think... it attacked the Death Eaters while Voldemort and I were dueling. It told me to run... but it bit me before I grabbed Cedric and the portkey..."

"What bit you?" urged Moody, his face continuing to change. Harry saw the many scars on his face fade, his missing nose growing and shortening. His short, grizzled grey hair lengthened and turned blonde as it grew over his magical eye.

 _This wasn't Professor Moody, it's the spy!_ realised Harry in shock. Harry guessed Polyjuice Potion. _Oh Merlin, I'm going to die..._

" _Stupefy!"_ bellowed a voice from outside as the Stunning Spell shot through the fake Moody's office door, splintering the wood and slamming into the Polyjuiced Death Eater's chest, sending the unfortunate bastard flying into the shelves behind him. Harry turned around from his chair and saw Professor Dumbledore walking through the remains of the door with his wand drawn and a murderous look on his face. The very air around the Hogwarts Headmaster crackled with energy as he vented some of his magic. Harry now knew why Dumbledore was considered the most powerful wizard of his time and why Voldemort feared him. The sight was truly awesome.

Behind Dumbledore stood Professors Snape and McGonagall, both with their wands drawn and pointing at the unconscious Death Eater. Professor McGonagall rushed towards the still shocked Harry and helped him out of his seat.

"Albus I'm taking Harry to the infirmary," said McGonagall.

"Harry needs to stay here," said Dumbledore calmly, his wand still trained on the Death Eater who Harry now recognised as Barty Crouch Jr. But Harry thought he was dead, and apparently, so did the others in the room judging by the looks on their faces. The wooden leg fell off as a new leg grew in its place, and the magical eye popped out of its socket, replaced by another, real eye.

"Severus, the Veritaserum?" said Dumbledore. Snape stepped forward and unstoppered a vial containing a clear liquid, then forcibly opened Crouch's mouth and poured the liquid down his throat. Snape then stepped back as Dumbledore muttered " _enervate."_

Crouch Jr.'s eyelids fluttered open and he stared at his interrogators with a glazed look in his eyes.

"Do you know who I am?" questioned Dumbledore.

"Albus Dumbledore," answered Crouch.

"Who are you?"

"Bartemius Crouch Jr."

"Where is Alastor Moody?"

"Here," said Crouch, though he looked to be fighting the serum's effects in order to hide the real Alastor Moody's whereabouts.

"Is he in this room?" said Dumbledore.

"Yes."

"Where."

"The seventh compartment in Moody's trunk."

Dumbledore nodded to Snape, who walked over to the oversized trunk and unlocked the seventh compartment. The trunk's lid sprang open and Harry had to fight the urge to vomit from the stench wafting from it. Snape peered over the trunk and ushered Dumbledore over. Harry peered into the trunk as well and saw a much thinner and balder Alastor Moody laying unconscious at the bottom the the cold trunk. Dumbledore ordered Professor McGonagall to fetch Madam Pomfrey as he levitated the real Moody from the trunk and gently placed him in a cushioned chair, then conjured a blanket and placed it over Moody.

"Now," said Dumbledore, turning back to Crouch, "What was your plan with Harry Potter?"

And so Crouch told them. How his father helped him escape by replacing Crouch Jr. with his mother in Azkaban, how Winky was charged with taking care of him. How he managed to overthrow his father's Imperius Curse and put one on his father, which explained Crouch Sr's debilitating health. He then told them about how he found Wormtail and together they found Voldemort in Albania, where they nursed him back to sufficient strength for Voldemort to obtain a new, albeit smaller and much weaker body. They were the once who kidnapped and tortured Bertha Jorkins in revealing them about the Tri-Wizard Tournament, then subsequently killed her. He then told them how he was the one who cast the Dark Mark with Harry's wand at the Quidditch World Cup and how he and Wormtail learned that Alastor Moody was to teach at Hogwarts, so together the two ambushed the retired Auror in his home. Then Crouch Jr. became the Polyjuiced Mad-Eye Moody and set up the plan to capture Harry Potter to use his blood for the potion and ritual to restore Voldemort to his former power.

He told them how he killed his father in the Forbidden Forest and transfigured his body into a bone so that no one would find him. He was the one who put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire by submitted Harry under a different school, thus ensuring Harry's name be called out. He told them of how he planted the seeds for Hagrid and Cedric Diggory to provide hints for Harry for the First and Second Tasks, while secretly giving Harry spell books for him to use. He explained how he volunteered to supervise the Third Task and how he Imperiused Viktor Krum to attack and disable Fleur Delacour to ensure that Harry reached the Tri-Wizard Cup that was actually a portkey to take Harry to the graveyard in Little Hangleton. The plan was that if Harry were to somehow escape then it would fall to Crouch to kill Harry Potter, thus securing Voldemort's claim on the Wizarding World.

Harry looked on in horror at the man who had manipulated Harry all year. In some ways, Harry could blame Crouch Jr. for the death of Cedric and was instrumental in Voldemort's resurrection.

When Crouch finished, Dumbledore asked Snape to fetch Minister Fudge while binding Crouch in conjured ropes. Madam Pomfrey arrived then and told Professor McGonagall to take Harry to the hospital wing while she levitated a still unconscious Moody behind them while Dumbledore stayed behind to keep an eye on Crouch Jr.

Several times Harry had to lean against Professor McGonagall's shoulder to support himself as they walked to the hospital wing and by the time they got there McGonagall was practically dragging him along. Pushing open the hospital wing's doors, Harry was greeted by the sight of the entire Weasley family, minus Charlie and Percy, along with Hermione and Sirius, disguised in his Animagus form _._ further away were Mr and Mrs Diggory, who sat on either side of the bed where Cedric lay. Harry's heart was consumed with grief at the sight, while at the same time comforted by the Weasleys' presence. Stumbling over to one of the beds, Harry all but collapsed into it, welcoming the comfort the bed provided.

Dutifully, Ron and Hermione took up the seats on either side of the bed, watching over him like guardians, and for that Harry was grateful. Finally, Harry succumbed to his pain and grief and allowed himself to release the emotions he had been holding in. He freely cried in front of the people he called family, his sobs shaking his body and causing more spikes of pain to shoot through his body. His shirt was soaked in blood and torn from the wound the lion-man gave him, along with the other injuries he had received during the night.

Harry felt a hand rest on his good shoulder and he looked up to see the sorrowful face of Mrs Weasley. Harry pulled her close, ignoring the protests of his injured shoulder and hugged Mrs Weasley. Nobody questioned Harry's move, though several of the Weasleys including Hermione, looked at the display in shock, as Harry was never one for touching or even initiating hugs. It was a testament to the grief Harry felt and the impact the night's events had left on him. It was a mother's comfort that Harry needed at that moment, and Mrs Weasley, the primary mother figure in Harry's life, was more than willing to provide him with that comfort.

They were forced to release each other however, when shouting could be heard outside the hospital wing.

"You can't possibly believe that Potter is telling the truth about You-Know-Who Albus?!" shouted the voice of Fudge.

"I do indeed believe that Harry was telling the truth. I have have been warning you for years, Cornelius. Voldemort has been gathering strength and now he has returned," replied the calm voice of Dumbledore.

" _Preposterous!"_ exclaimed Fudge before the hospital doors burst open, letting in the portly shape of Fudge, along with Dumbledore and Percy.

"Mister Potter! I demand you tell me what's going on!" bellowed Fudge.

"Minister Fudge! I will not have you shouting at my patients!" admonished Madam Pomfrey, who had marched over from the resting Moody to defend Harry. Likewise, the Weasleys and Hermione formed a protective circle around Harry's bed. Beside Harry, the hackles of the great black dog's rose as Sirius growled menacingly at the Minister for Magic.

"He needs to tell me why he was blabbering on about You-Know-Who's return!" yelled Fudge.

"Cornelius, if Harry said that Voldemort has returned then he has," said Dumbledore.

"The boy is clearly been through a traumatic experience that he _thinks_ he saw You-Know-Who," said Fudge indignantly.

"So you think I imagined Voldemort murder Cedric right in front of me and then torture me?" growled Harry from behind the Weasley circle.

"That is exactly what I'm saying!" blurted Fudge.

"Minister," said Harry seriously, "I saw with my very eyes Voldemort's return with the help of Peter Pettigrew."

"Pettigrew? Are you still prattling on about Sirius Black's supposed innocence?" demanded Fudge. He turned to Dumbledore. "The boy's gone mad, Albus, mad! And so have you if you believe what he's spouting off!" Fudge shook his head. "No, no You-Know-Who is dead and that's that. I demand that you retract your statements, the both of you, so we can put this behind us and move on."

"WHAT!" bellowed Harry, then winced when his shoulder ached and lay back down on his bed.

"You've clearly lost it, Mister Potter and you had better rest up," said Fudge. He then reached into his cloak's pocket and pulled out a large bag full of galleons, tossing them onto the foot of Harry's bed. "Your prize money. Congratulations on winning the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Mister Potter." And with that, Fudge turned on his heels and stormed out of the hospital wing, Percy trailing behind him.

The doors closed and Dumbledore sighed. "I fear that Fudge's refusal to accept Voldemort's return will have disastrous consequences on our world," he said gravely. "No matter. Harry, I suggest you rest up and allow Madam Pomfrey to work her magic on you." He glanced at the group of people gathered around him. "These are trying times ahead of us. I pray that we all prepare for the coming war. Good night." Bowing his head, Dumbledore left them to join the grieving Diggory family and offer his condolences.

Madam Pomfrey came over, carrying several potions and instructed Harry to drink them all. Harry grimaced as he drank them all, though the last one left Harry feeling drowsy. Harry rested his head down and his eyes fluttered closed, and barely heard Padfoot whine in sadness as he rested his head on Harry's lap.

oOoOoOo

When Harry awoke, the sun was gleaming through the windows of the hospital wing, creating beautiful rays of light. His ruined shirt had been removed, and his entire torso was wrapped in bandages. Harry noticed that Padfoot was asleep on the floor, but other than his godfather, he was alone. The curtains around Moody's bed had been closed, and Cedric's body was nowhere to be seen. Harry groaned when he attempted to stretch, his left shoulder sending spasms of pain through his body. Immediately Sirius woke up and whined in concern for his godson.

"I'm fine Sirius," assured Harry, smiling sadly. He couldn't help but laugh at the look Sirius gave him, which was quite amusing seeing as a dog was trying to raise its eyebrow at him.

"Alright," conceded Harry, "I'm still a little sore." Nodding his head Sirius walked over to the curtains and used his jaws to pull them closed. Once assured of their privacy, the dog transformed into a tall, thin man with wavy shoulder-length hair and a trimmed mustache and goatee. Harry burst into tears as his godfather enveloped him in a hug, and they remained in that position for several minutes before they finally released each other. Sirius sat down in one of the bedside chairs and looked at Harry intently.

"I'm so sorry Harry," said Sirius softly. Wiping away the last of his tears, Harry shrugged.

"There was nothing you could have done," said Harry. Sirius shook his head.

"I know, but I wish there was a way for me to take away the pain."

"You being here is enough to make me feel better," replied Harry, smiling sadly. "You believe me, don't you?"

Sirius looked up in shock. "Of course I believe you Harry! If you say Voldemort's back, then that's good enough for me," he soothed. "And, I imagine many of your friends feel the same way," he added. Harry nodded his head slowly.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Harry again nodded and told Sirius everything that happened from the moment Harry and Cedric touched the cup. How he watched Wormtail murder Cedric, the ritual and potion used to resurrect Voldemort, the return of the Death Eaters, his torture for Voldemort's own sick amusement and the ensuing duel. Harry was just going into description of his saviour's battle against the Death Eaters and Voldemort when Sirius stopped him.

"Wait, you're telling me that some beast that looked like cross between a man and a lion, wearing a hood and cloak came out of nowhere and saved your life?" asked Sirius incredulously.

"Er... yeah, that's what I'm telling you," answered Harry awkwardly. "Do you know what it was that saved me?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, I've never heard of such a thing," he said.

"Yeah. So anyway I was almost about to escape when the lion-man was thrown on me and when it got up, it said sorry then it me on the shoulder before it ran back to fight the Death Eaters and I escaped," said Harry. Sirius' eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.

"It did WHAT?!" bellowed Sirius.

"SSHHH!" whispered Harry frantically. "You might wake up half the castle!"

"Sorry, but why the hell did it bite you? Was that all where all the blood was coming from?"

"Yeah, and I have no idea why it bit me."

Sirius stroked his mustache. "Strange," he murmured.

"What are we going to do?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think Dumbledore may be getting the old gang back together to prepare to fight," answered Sirius. He suddenly sat up straight when they heard the sounds of someone approaching, Sirius quickly transformed back into his gigantic black dog form just as Madam Pomfrey opened Harry's privacy curtains.

"Ah, awake I see Mister Potter," she said. "How was your rest?"

Harry shrugged. "Alright I guess. I didn't feel anything during the night," he said. Madam Pomfrey nodded her head and drew her wand, casting some diagnostic spells around Harry. Her lips pursed and her brow furrowed before stepping forward and began peeling the bandages off Harry's torso. Harry winced occasionally and stifled a cry as he was jostled slightly by Madam Pomfrey's ministrations until she finally unwrapped the last of his bandages. Madam Pomfrey gasped at the sight, while Sirius barked in alarm. Confused, Harry looked down and his eyes widened.

The bite marks from the lion-man had turned an ugly black with red welts swelling along the edges, and purple veins marred his shoulder all the way down to his chest.

"What the-?" started Harry.

"This looks eerily like the bite of a werewolf," whispered Madam Pomfrey. "But the teeth marks are too large. Did this injury happen before or after the maze?"

"Er, after," said Harry. "Some kind of beast attacked Voldemort-" Harry ignored Madam Pomfrey's flinch of the name, "-and his Death Eaters but bit me when I got too close. I don't think it was a werewolf though, cause it wasn't the full moon."

"Hmm. You are correct but just to be sure I will need to run some more tests and keep you under observation," said Madam Pomfrey. Harry nodded his understanding and allowed Madam Pomfrey to perform some more diagnostic spells and take a sample of his blood. She then re-bandaged his torso and put his left arm in a sling to limit the movement of his shoulder before she returned back to her office. Sirius transformed back into human form just as Harry angrily whispered "werewolf?!"

"I have no idea," was all Sirius could say on the matter before they were joined by Ron, Hermione, the Weasley twins and Ginny. Sirius quickly changed back into a dog and barked happily at the newcomers.

"You alright mate?" asked Ron once everyone had gathered around Harry's bed.

"I've been better," was all Harry said. He waited patiently for one of them to say what was on their minds, but it seemed like no one was willing to step up.

"Well?" Harry finally snapped, "are one of you going to ask what happened?"

"Er..." was all Ron could say while Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What happened last night?" Hermione finally said, sadness in her eyes.

Harry then proceeded to repeat the story he had told Sirius earlier. When he was finished, Hermione and Ginny had tears in their eyes while Ron, Fred and George had paled considerably.

"Oh Harry," sniffed Hermione as she pulled her best friend into a fierce hug that could rival one of Mrs Weasley's infamous bear hugs.

"Um Hermione, ouch," winced Harry. Hermione gasped and quickly let go of him.

"Oh so sorry! I should have known!" she squeaked. "How are your injuries?"

"Not healing as fast as they should be," said Harry. "Whatever it was that saved me, its bite acts similar to a werewolf's so Madam Pomfrey's keeping me in for observation." Harry could already see the wheels turning in Hermione's brain. If anybody could figure out what that lion-man was and what its bite did to humans, it was his bushy-haired friend.

"He's really back, isn't he," whispered Ginny. Harry didn't need to ask who _he_ was.

"Yeah, and we need to be ready for when he comes out in the open," said Harry. "With Fudge and the Ministry denying his return, things will be more difficult for us all to prepare."

Everybody in the room nodded their heads at that before conversation turned to lighter topics, much to Harry's relief.

oOoOoOo

The next few weeks were a blur for Harry. He had been cleared the next day to return to classes by Madam Pomfrey under the conditions that he wear a sling to stabilize his shoulder and to take it easy, along with returning to the infirmary for his prescribed potions. Sirius had left Harry, telling him that Dumbledore was sending him to gather the 'old gang' back together and warned Harry to stay out of trouble. He didn't recall anything from his classes, and having been exempt from the end of year exams, spent much of his time in class trying not to think about that night. On the nights where Harry didn't take any Dreamless Sleep Potion, he constantly awoke from nightmares, reliving Cedric's death and Voldemort's return in his dreams. On these nights Harry chose to sit by the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, staring into the fires.

People generally avoided Harry in the school corridors, though he could often see groups pointing at him and whispering behind their hands as he walked past. He was fine with it mostly, as he didn't want to be pestered about the Third Task and preferred to eat when the Great Hall was mostly devoid of students.

And so it was that Harry sat between Ron and Katie Bell, with Hermione sitting opposite him as they ate in the Great Hall for their end of year feast. There was no excited chatter among the students, no bright colours of which House that had won the House Cup. Instead, there were black drapes on the wall behind the teachers' table. Harry figured it was a mark of respect for the passing of Cedric Diggory.

Professor Dumbledore stood up at the staff table. The Great Hall, which in any case had been less noisy than it usually was at the Leaving Feast, became very quiet.

*"The end," said Dumbledore, looking around at them all, "of another year."

He paused, and his eyes fell upon the Hufflepuff table. Theirs had been the most subdued table before he had gotten to his feet, and theirs were still the saddest and palest faces in the Hall.

"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight," said Dumbledore, "but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here," he gestured toward the Hufflepuffs, "enjoying our feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory."

They did it, all of them; the benches scraped as everyone in the Hall stood, and raised their goblets, and echoed, in one loud, low, rumbling voice, "Cedric Diggory."

Harry caught a glimpse of Cho through the crowd. There were tears pouring silently down her face. He looked down at the table as they all sat down again.

"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff house," Dumbledore continued. "He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about."

Harry raised his head and stared at Dumbledore.

"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

A panicked whisper swept the Great Hall. People were staring at Dumbledore in disbelief, in horror. He looked perfectly calm as he watched them mutter themselves into silence.

"The Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore continued, "does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so - either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."

Stunned and frightened, every face in the Hall was turned toward Dumbledore now...or almost every face. Over at the Slytherin table. Harry saw Draco Malfoy muttering something to Crabbe and Goyle. Harry felt a hot, sick swoop of anger in his stomach. He forced himself to look back at Dumbledore.

"There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric's death," Dumbledore went on. "I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter."

A kind of ripple crossed the Great Hall as a few heads turned in Harry's direction before flicking back to face Dumbledore.

"Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort," said Dumbledore. "He risked his own life to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. He showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honor him."

Dumbledore turned gravely to Harry and raised his goblet once more. Nearly everyone in the Great Hall followed suit. They murmured his name, as they had murmured Cedric's, and drank to him. But through a gap in the standing figures. Harry saw that Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and many of the other Slytherins had remained defiantly in their seats, their goblets untouched. Dumbledore, who after all possessed no magical eye, did not see them.

When everyone had once again resumed their seats, Dumbledore continued, "The Triwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened - of Lord Voldemort's return - such ties are more important than ever before."

Dumbledore looked from Madame Maxime and Hagrid, to Fleur Delacour and her fellow Beauxbatons students, to Viktor Krum and the Durmstrangs at the Slytherin table. Krum, Harry saw, looked wary, almost frightened, as though he expected Dumbledore to say something harsh.

"Every guest in this Hall," said Dumbledore, and his eyes lingered upon the Durmstrang students, "will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again - in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.

"It is my belief- and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken - that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst.

"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."*

Katie sniffed slightly as she cried silently beside Harry. Not knowing what else to do, he awkwardly rubbed her back, to which she sent a grateful smile in return. Harry smiled back, though his smile did not reach his ears, something which he knew Katie had noticed. Harry turned back to the feast, attempting to drown his sorrowful mood in the delicious food provided by the Hogwarts house elves.

oOoOoOo

Despite the bright sunshine and cloudless skies, the trip back on the Hogwarts Express was relatively subdued, though Harry, Ron and Hermione had found a compartment for themselves and were talking freely and fully than they had in over a week.

But, of course, all good things must come to an end. While Hermione was busy explaining to the boys about how she had captured Rita Skeeter once she had figured out that the vile reporter was an unregistered beetle Animagus, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle made their semi-annual visit.

"You should have taken me up on my offer Potter," sneered Malfoy.

"What?" said Harry, his face contorted in confusion.

"When we met on the train? Our first day at Hogwarts? I warned you about meddling with Mudbloods and blood-traitors! Now the Dark Lord is back! and he's going to murder them all, starting with you. Well, actually he started with-" Malfoy never got to finish that sentence, because the next thing anyone knew, Harry was holding up the Slytherin Prince in the air by the throat with his good arm.

"Finish that sentence, I dare you," snarled Harry, knowing full well that Malfoy wasn't capable of speaking. Crabbe and Goyle were stunned in surprise, as they along with Ron and Hermione never even saw Harry move, but they recovered and were just about to roll up their sleeves when they were hit in the backs by several jinxes. The two brutes fell to the ground like a bag of rocks while Harry threw the spluttering Malfoy out of the compartment. Fred and George, along with Angelina, Katie and Alicia peered around the compartment door, grinning like idiots.

"Well, it seems like you fellas didn't need us," said George lightly, "We didn't even see ferret boy until Harry tossed him out."

"Very impressive, I must say Harry old boy. Have you been working out?" joked Fred. Harry didn't answer, being too surprised at his own display of strength as he sat back down. The twins and the girls filed into the compartment where everyone but Harry gathered around for a game of Exploding Snap.

Harry, on the other hand, stared out the window and watched as the country flew past them, his mind wandering aimlessly. He was disrupted from his thoughts though, when a hand rested on his arm and he turned to look at Hermione, who was giving him a concerned look. Harry smiled and shook his head, silently telling her that he was fine. In truth, he really did feel ok, but he was worried about the future of his world and the people he cared about now that Voldemort was back.

Harry's world would never be the same again.

 _A/N- *Taken directly from the Goblet of Fire.*_

 _Love it? Hate it? Let me know! Note that this will probably be my longest chapter, though all future chapters will still be relatively long._


	3. Chapter 3- Prongs in an Alleyway

**Chapter 3- Prongs in an Alleyway**

Harry was frustrated. At what? Well, the real question would be to ask what _wasn't_ he frustrated in. Ever since he had left the Hogwarts Express and gone back to Privet Drive with his awful relatives almost two months previously, Harry had felt cut off from the Wizarding World. He had received almost no news regarding what was going on outside of Little Whinging, and it seemed like everyone he knew had simply fallen off the face of the earth. Even Ron and Hermione's letters to him were short and vague, and they kept telling him that they would explain everything once Harry was given the okay by Dumbledore for him to leave the Dursleys for the rest of the holidays. From what Harry had surmised from his friends' letters, he was sure that they were not staying in the Burrow.

Of course, Harry's mood did not improve when the Ministry of Magic were currently slandering his and Dumbledore's names in _The Daily Prophet,_ calling Harry a self-obsessed attention-seeking brat with psychological issues and Dumbledore an old fool who was becoming more and more senile in his old age. All because Harry and Dumbledore had declared Voldemort's return at the end of Harry's fourth year.

Harry was consistently tired as well. His nights were plagued with the memories of the night of the Third Task, and Harry would wake up every night stifling a scream on the tip of his tongue. The first night back at Number Four, Privet Drive, Harry had woken the whole house (and possibly the neighbourhood) and ended up being locked in his room by Uncle Vernon for the rest of the week. So, every night after, Harry would attempt to hold in his waking screams, but it did little to curb the wrath of his hippo of an uncle. Fortunately, other than the nights when Uncle Vernon would come into Harry's room at night telling him to "STOP THAT BLOODY SCREAMING OR YOU'LL BE OUT OF THIS HOUSE!" the Dursleys practically ignored Harry. He noticed that he was being fed a little more than he was used to when he came to stay at the Dursleys, and they left him to his own devices after he finished his chores.

And so, it was all thanks to his newfound freedom that Harry was currently sitting on one of the creaking swings in the rundown park. Years of abuse from Harry's cousin Dudley and his gang had turned the once lively park into a desolate ruin of old swings, slides and jungle gym, complete with graffiti layering the entire mausoleum of equipment. Strangely, Harry thought of the sight of the park ruins as a metaphor to his mind and mood. Once full of life and innocence, the recent events had turned Harry into a sullen, angry teenager. Harry spent much of his spare time at the old park, thinking about how his life and suddenly turned upside down.

Why was there no news on Voldemort? Was the evil snake hiding in the background, amassing his forced before delivering an almighty strike on the unsuspecting Wizarding World? Where were Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys? What was so secret that they couldn't tell him where they were? Were they worried that his mail would be intercepted by Death Eaters and endanger the lives of the ones he cared the most about?

Harry was disrupted from his reverie when he heard the sounds of several pairs of feet approaching his location. Harry had recently discovered that his hearing, along with his sense of smell and another sixth sense that allowed Harry to just be aware of everything around him had increased dramatically over the past month and a half, though his eyesight was still terribly awful. That meant that he knew when people were coming from a long distance before even they knew Harry was in the area, and that meant Harry knew who was coming and he sighed in annoyance.

Dudley and his gang of idiots rounded a corner and came into Harry's view, snickering as they glared at Harry. Harry, for the most part, kept his face in a neutral expression, though his eyes had hardened with barely contained fury as he guessed what his whale of a cousin and friends had come to the park to do. His muscles in his body tensed in preparation of the inevitable confrontation.

"Oi, Potter! What ya' doing here?" called out Dudley as he and his friends drew closer to Harry. Dudley had lost a fair amount of fat on his large body thanks to his boxing. Although he was still fairly round, Harry could see the hard muscle lying beneath the excess blubber.

"Nothing much Dudders," said Harry calmly, knowing that the nickname was sure to get a rise out of his cousin.

"Don't call me that," threatened Dudley.

"Why not? Your mum still calls you that." Harry noticed Dudley begin to flush and fidget, a sign that he did not know how to deal with Harry's snide comments.

"At least I still have a mum," retorted Dudley. Harry internally winced. _So he was going to go there huh?_

"I know you miss your mummy Potter," continued Dudley. "I hear you crying for your mummy every night. ' _He's going to kill me mum!'"_ Next to Dudley, his friends were all laughing uproariously at his jabs. "Who's Cedric? Is he your boyfriend? Is he _dead_ as well?"

Harry saw red, and the next thing he knew, he had bolted from his swing and drawn his wand and pointed it at Dudley's neck. Dudley's friends continued to laugh at the sight of the shorter teenager pointing a stick at their ringleader, but Dudley had immediately quieted, his face stricken with the look of fear. Harry's eyes blazed as he cycled through his mind the list of hexes he could use on his cousin, but was also considering the notion of simply punching the git in the face. The second week back from Hogwarts, Dudley had caught Harry by himself at the park and had decided to taunt his smaller cousin. But when push came to shove, Dudley had suddenly found himself laying on his oversized backside with Harry standing over him with a menacing look.

"Touch me again, and this will feel like child's play," Harry had warned before stalking off back to Privet Drive. After that stunt, Harry had realised that his strength and endurance had increased as well over the holidays, and his body had kept in good shape thanks to all the chores he had done in the yard. Now, instead of the short, scrawny boy that had come home for the summer, there stood a lean-muscled young man standing almost eye to eye to Dudley.

Harry felt it before he saw it. The temperature started to drop dramatically from the sweltering heatwave that dominated much of Great Britain to unnaturally frigid weather. The sky began to darken in the late afternoon sky as black, menacing clouds formed and blotted out the sun.

"What are you doing?" demanded Dudley fearfully as his friends abandoned him to escape the impending rain.

"I'm not doing anything!" said Harry, still looking up at the sky.

"You've got your freaky stick out!"

"That doesn't mean I'm doing this!" Harry's heart froze as the temperatures continued to drop. "We have to get out of here," said Harry. "Come on!"

Harry pulled a resisting Dudley along as they left the park, his wand still drawn. Harry's eyes darted everywhere to scan his surroundings. Dudley continued to whine and splutter incoherently about Harry's 'freakishness,' but Harry ignored him. He led Dudley into an alleyway, which was a proven shortcut back to Privet Drive. Suddenly the lights flickered, then blew, plunging the alleyway into freezing blackness.

"What did you do?" cried Dudley.

"For Merlin's sake Dudley, not everything weird that happens is my fault!" growled Harry, becoming increasingly frustrated with his coward of a cousin.

 _SMACK!_ Harry was suddenly knocked to the ground when Dudley's fist connected to the back of his head, sending him sprawling to the ground and dropping his wand. Harry's head ached and he felt a little dizzy as he tried to sit up, his eyes blinded by imaginary stars.

"What the hell?!" shouted Harry, looking up at where Harry guessed Dudley's face would be.

"I-I warned you to stop doing this freakiness!" stammered Dudley.

"And I told you to I wasn't the one-" began Harry, but he froze. Approaching from where Harry and Dudley had first entered the alleyway, Harry heard the distinct sounds of something despicable drawing a rattling breath. His head began to fills with the dying screams of his mother, along with the high-pitched cackle of his most hated enemy. Resisting the urge to keel over and vomit, Harry began fumbling for his wand. _What the hell is a dementor doing here?!_ he thought. Getting frustrated, Harry yelled out " _Lumos!"_ and immediately his wand lit up, which had fallen a few feet away from Harry. He quickly crawled over to fetch his wand, not even bothering to pick up the fact that he wasn't holding his wand when he cast the lighting charm. Grabbing the wand, Harry stood up and held his wand above his head, lighting the alleyway in a pale white light.

There, gliding into the alley, was the dementor. Its long, tattered cloak trailed behind it like black tendrils, its ruined hood hiding the foulness underneath. Harry could see its prominent ribs expand as it drew another rattling breath, seemingly sucking all the warmth and happiness from the air and raising its arms to reveal rotting, bony hands. Harry fought to stand up as his legs threatened to give way. Dudley stood frozen in fear as the foul being floated closer to the two boys. Harry closed his eyes and tried to summon his happiest memories and the feelings they evoked in him. He pictured the memory of him in his third year standing next to Sirius as he told Harry that he wanted the boy to come live with him when he was able to clear his name. Harry imagined the overwhelming joy he felt at the thought of no longer living with the Dursleys during the summer, and let those feelings take hold in his heart.

Harry pointed his wand at the dementor and bellowed " _Expecto Patronum!"_ A burst of silver light shot from the end of his wand and formed into a tall, majestic silvery-blue stag that rippled with silver energy and radiated the purest of positive emotion. It turned towards Harry expectantly as the dementor froze in its tracks. "Get it," ordered Harry. Prongs lurched forward and charged the dementor, lowering it razor sharp antlers in an offensive manner. The dementor shrieked a horrid piercing sound when Prongs seemingly gored the dementor with its antlers and threw it into one of the walls of the alleyway, then proceeded to stomp the fallen dementor with its large hooves. The dementor shrieked again as it managed to avoid being trampled by the silver stag and beat a hasty retreat, Prongs close on its billowing cloak. Harry stood stunned at the attack Prongs had made on the dementor, surprised that the Patronus could even touch it. Harry made a mental note to ask Professor Lupin about it the next time he saw him.

Dudley seemed to snap out of his daze and sprinted as fast as he could in the opposite direction of the dementor and Prongs and pushed past Harry. However he didn't get far when another dementor glided in out of nowhere and knocked the fat boy into a couple of trash cans, knocking them over. Harry called out in fear and summoned Prongs back to him. The stag immediately halted its pursuit of the first dementor and charged back as fast as it could, but Harry feared that his Patronus was too far away. So Harry did the only thing he could do. He sprinted over the the dementor, which was lowering its face over the fallen Dudley and punched it in the face as hard as he could. Harry's fist felt cold as it collided with the side of the dementor's head, but the impact sent the dementor flying into another group of trash cans. It didn't have time to recover though, as at that moment Prongs arrived and gored the helpless thing, flinging into the air as it screamed in agony. It too fled as well, while Prongs stamped its hooves into the ground and let out a bellow of victory.

Harry kept his wand drawn as Prongs continued to canter protectively around his master until Harry was certain that the dementors weren't coming back. Patting the silvery stag in the snout, he watched as Prongs faded away into a wisp of silver-blue smoke before running over to his fallen cousin. Dudley looked horrible. His face was pale and his eyes glazed over and he stunk of vomit, which was covering his large, white shirt. _I'm probably going to be the one cleaning that shirt,_ thought Harry glumly before he reached down and hoisted up his cousin, a no small feat even with Harry's increased strength. He heard footsteps approaching and tried to put away his wand, but the newcomer stopped him.

"Don't put away your wand Harry! They might come back!" said the stranger, whose voice sounded very familiar.

"Mrs Figg!" exclaimed Harry, surprised that the crazy cat lady knew what a wand was.

"Oh, that blasted Mundungus Fletcher! When I get my hands on that man I'll squeeze the life out of him!" seethed Mrs Figg.

"What? Who-?"

"Never mind. Are you alright?"

"Er, yeah. But Dudley's real shook up," said Harry pointing to Dudley, though still confused.

"He'll be fine. Just remember to give him some chocolate when you get home." Mrs Figg looked up to the sky. "Come now, let's get inside before something else happens." Harry dragged Dudley alongside him as he followed Mrs Figg back to Privet Drive.

"How did you know I was a wizard?" asked Harry.

"Dumbledore sent me to look out for you," answered Mrs Figg.

"Dumbledore?"

"Yes my boy. You didn't think that he would have left all alone would you?"

Harry frowned. "It seems like he's left me by myself this summer," he muttered. Either Mrs Figg didn't hear what Harry had just said, or she chose to ignore it because she didn't reply, instead picking up the pace. Harry grunted with the effort of dragging Dudley, who still remained unresponsive. The trio continued on in silence until Harry posed a question.

"How come you never told me you were a witch?"

"Because I'm a Squib," said Mrs Figg.

"Oh." More silence. They eventually made it back to Privet Drive, but Mrs Figg grabbed ahold of Harry's arm before he could escort Dudley inside their house.

"Don't go outside. Keep the doors and windows closed at all times. I expect Dumbledore will be sending some people for you," she warned before patting his arm and continuing on her way. Harry stared at the lady before he continued inside.

"Dudders, is that you?" called the voice of Harry's horse-faced aunt Petunia. _Great, just what I need,_ thought Harry. He placed Dudley in one of the chairs in the dining room and breathed a sigh of relief, glad to be rid of the weight of his cousin.

"Aunt Petunia, help!" he called out. No answer. "It's Dudley, he's not feeling well!" Immediately there were the sounds of hurried footsteps and into the kitchen came Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. They didn't even see Harry as they carelessly pushed Harry out of the way to attend to their spoilt son.

"Goodness boy, what happened to you!" cried Uncle Vernon. Dudley only grunted and threw up all over the dining room floor, then stared at Harry, as if he was expecting him to answer. Harry glared at Dudley, knowing full well that he wanted Harry to get into trouble.

"We were attacked," said Harry. Vernon and Petunia straightaway looked up at their nephew with heated looks.

" _You_ did this?" shrieked Petunia.

Harry rolled his eyes. "No Aunt Petunia, we were attacked by-" he was cut off when a large screech owl fluttered into the house and dropped off a letter before it took off again. Harry ignored his uncle's tirade of "bloody owls!" and picked up the letter. Stamped on the letter's envelope was the Ministry of Magic seal. Cautiously, Harry opened the letter and read.

 _Dear Mr. Potter,_

 _We have received intelligence that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty-three minutes past nine this evening in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a Muggle._

 _The severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand._

 _As you have already received an official warning for a previous offence under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 a.m. on the twelfth of August._

 _Hoping you are well,_

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Mafalda Hopkirk_

 _Improper Use of Magic Office_

 _Ministry of Magic_

Harry read the letter twice more and an icy hand clenched around his heart. He was stuck here with the Dursleys forever. There was no going back to Hogwarts. At that moment, Harry almost wished that Voldemort would show up on the doorstep and _Avada Kedavra_ him right there and then.

Before Harry could react, another owl swooped in and crashed into the closed kitchen window. Harry sighed, again ignoring Uncle Vernon's outbursts, and fetched the letter from the stunned owl. The letter was from Arthur Weasley, Ron's dad, who told him that Dumbledore was at the Ministry trying to retract Harry's expulsion, and warned him not to leave the house and to pack his things.

Harry straightaway ran up to his room, telling his aunt to get Dudley some chocolate and closed his bedroom door behind him. He opened up the loose floorboards in his room and fetched, his trunk, his Firebolt, books, cauldron and other things and stuffed them all in his trunk. He then ripped open his drawers and pulled out several sets of clothes and shoved them in the trunk as well before grabbing Hedwig's owl cage and placing it on top of the now fully-packed trunk. Hedwig had gone out hunting, and Harry fervently hoped that she would be able to find him.

Not twenty minutes later the doorbell rang, followed by an ear-splitting scream, no doubt by Aunt Petunia. Harry sighed and grabbed his trunk and cage, hefting them over his shoulders and climbed down the stairs into the foyer. Downstairs, he was greeted by the sight of several people, including Professor Moody, who looked much better compared to the last time Harry saw him, as well as a short, young woman with spiky pink hair and a heart-shaped face. Harry could only imagine the heart attack Aunt Petunia must be having at having a woman like this in her house. Along with Moody and the pink-haired woman, was a tall, dark-skinned man with a bald head, purple robes and a golden earring, two average looking witches, Dedalus Diggle ("Oh boy," muttered Harry) and another man wearing Muggle clothing.

"Alright there Potter?" growled Moody. Harry nodded, having realised that this was the first time he had met the real Mad-Eye Moody face to face. "Good. Now we'll quickly do introductions then be on our way to Headquarters." He pointed to the younger woman and Tall, Dark and Scary. "This here is Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Wotcher Harry," said Tonks, giving Harry a sly wink which made Harry blush, while Shacklebolt merely nodded his head.

"Anyway," continued Moody, "Those two over there are Emmeline Vance and Hestia Jones," the two older witches smiled and waved at Harry, "and that's-"

"Dedalus Diggle!" interrupted aforementioned wizard, who came up and shook Harry's hand enthusiastically, "It's a pleasure to meet you again!" Harry faked a smile and patiently waited for the excitable wizard to let go of his hand.

"Let go of the poor boy!" shouted Moody, getting aggravated now. "And this right here is Matthew Bell." The last wizard stepped forward and shook Harry's hand, and much to Harry's relief, kept it brief.

"Wait a minute," said Harry. "You wouldn't happen to be Katie Bell's father?"

Mr Bell smiled. "That would be correct. I'm a Muggleborn, so when Dumbledore approached me about fighting You-Know-Who, I couldn't refuse. Got to take care of my family, I do," he said. Harry grinned at the man before turning his attention back to Moody.

"Now, if there are no further interruptions we can all now-"

"BOY?! WHAT ARE THESE FREAKS DOING IN MY HOUSE?!" boomed the voice of Uncle Vernon. Harry rolled his eyes and turned around to look at the purple-faced man. Dudley was standing behind Uncle Vernon, still looking quite pale and clutching a bucket under his arm. Harry noticed that Dudley was clutching a block of chocolate, so at least his advice wasn't wasted.

"They're here to escort me out of your home. I'm leaving for the rest of the summer," said Harry in a calm tone, though inside he was seething. That brought Uncle Vernon up short.

"Oh, er... bye," was all he said before turning around and walking back into the lounge room, followed closely by Aunt Petunia and Dudley.

"Lovely family," said Tonks with a roll of her eyes.

"Enough talk, let's go," huffed Moody as he walked outside, his wooden leg clunking. Harry followed the rest of his guard outside and saw that they had arrived by broom. "Get your broom Potter," said Moody. Harry quickly fished out his Firebolt and hopped on, excited to be flying again. Harry noticed that his guard had all taken up positions around him so as to protect him, he assumed. "Alright. Keep close Potter. Everyone else, keep the person next to or in front of you in your sight at all times and if we're attacked, the closest person to Potter will take him the rest of the way. Understood?" Everyone grumbled their agreement and so, Harry, along with his guard, took into the air, and Harry left Privet Drive for another year.

 _A/N- Thanks again for the reviews my beautiful readers! I do this for you (and myself, but that''s not as important). Just a quick note, yes, it seems like it's staying true to canon but it's still early in the story before it will begin to deviate from canon, just bear with me here._

 _As always reviews are greatly appreciated!_


	4. Chapter 4- Explosive Reunions

**Chapter 4- Explosive Reunions**

"FOR MERLIN'S SAKE ALASTOR NOBODY'S TRYING TO KILL US!" shouted Tonks over the wind.

"WE HAVE TO BE SURE!" replied Moody.

"Oh bloody hell THE COLD'S GONNA KILL HARRY BEFORE THE DEATH EATERS GET TO US YOU PARANOID PONCE!" Tonks had a point there. As much as Harry loved flying on a broomstick, after over an hour of flying in circles over London, his whole body was starting to shiver violently and his fingers began to feel numb. Moody finally acquiesced and began descending below the clouds, with Harry and the others following closely behind. They landed in a darkened street behind some bushes, waiting for Moody to give the all clear to cross the street as his magical eye whirled maniacally in its socket.

Moody gave a grunt, which Harry assumed was the signal, and he and his guard stepped out onto the curb into a muggle neighbourhood. They faced a set of homes that had been incorrectly numbered 11 to 13. Shacklebolt handed Harry a piece of parchment, instructing the shorter boy to read it. Harry unfolded the parchment.

 _The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix can be found at Number 12, Grimmauld Place._

Harry looked up at Shacklebolt in confusion. Why did he have to know the address of a house? Shacklebolt nudged Harry to look at the street and Harry's eyes widened in astonishment. Another house had appeared out of nowhere between numbers 11 and 13, which Harry guessed to be the missing Number 12. Moody led the way across the street to the house, his magical eye never ceasing to move as it scanned the street. He opened Number 12's door and ushered everyone inside, never ceasing to take his eyes off the dark street. Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the former Auror, though he had to admit, Moody's paranoia had certainly kept him alive that long so there must have been a method to his madness.

Harry was quite disgusted at the disrepair of the house's interior. The wall paint was peeling off in large flakes, everything was covered in a thick layer of dust and the air smelt stale. Hanging from the ceiling was an old candelabra that resembled an old, silver cobweb.

Harry's guard filed past him, with Tonks giving him a wink before she tripped over a troll's foot that had been fashioned into an umbrella, falling face first and swearing under her breath. The sound sent a portrait of an old woman in a black cap into a screeching rage. " _Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers-"_ The woman was cut of when Moody flicked his wand, closing a set of curtains over the woman's portrait and silencing her whilst scowling at the fallen Tonks. Shacklebolt and Mr Bell chuckled lightly as Tonks helped herself up, sending dirty glares to the laughing men before following them and the others through a doorway. Harry got a glimpse of Sirius and Professor Lupin before the door closed behind Mrs Weasley, who had come out of the same room with a wide grin on her face.

"Hello Harry," she said, pulling Harry into one of her famous bone-crushing hugs. She let go of Harry, who was struggling to catch his breath, and gave him a once over. "Dinner will be ready shortly dear. Why don't you take your things upstairs to your room. Ron and Hermione should be up there as well."

"Wait, was that-" began Harry, but Mrs Weasley cut him off.

"Ah! You can ask questions at dinner!" she said. She gestured up the stairs. "You'll be sharing with Ron. Second floor, you're on the door on the right," she said, smiling. Harry smiled back, a little taken aback by Mrs Weasley's abrupt attitude and hauled his trunk back over his shoulder and walked up the stairs. He passed what appeared to be a shrine of severed House Elf heads, probably former Elves who had served under the previous owners of the house. Harry personally thought it a little, a lot, creepy. Much of the house was in as much disrepair as the entrance hall, the dust making Harry's nose itch. He sneezed a couple of times before shaking his head in annoyance, then opened the door into the bedroom in which he would be staying in for the rest of the summer.

Inside there were two beds situated on opposite sides of the bed. A nightstand, complete with a cracked mirror, sat between the two beds on the wall opposite Harry. On one of the walls was an empty portrait, its occupier currently not there, and there was an old wardrobe in the bedroom corner. Hedwig was preening her feathers atop of the mirror, and she gave a hoot when she saw her master. Harry dropped his luggage at the foot of one of the beds and walked over to his beloved snowy owl and began petting her affectionately. Hedwig gave another hoot of appreciation as Harry continued preening her, but he stopped when he heard the bedroom door behind him open. Harry whipped around with blinding speed and saw Ron and Hermione standing at the doorway, looking at him nervously.

"H-hello Harry," said Hermione.

"Hey mate," said Ron. Harry only grunted and began unpacking his things from his trunk, putting several books on the nightstand and chucking his Firebolt under the bed. Harry didn't particularly feel like talking to his supposed 'best friends,' feeling as though they had abandoned him over the summer. He chose to ignore the furtive glances Ron and Hermione were giving each other as he continued to unpack, though it was making him more and more annoyed. He should have been happy to see his best friends after over a month apart, but now that they were here with him, Harry just wanted them to leave him alone.

"We're so sorry we couldn't tell you everything Harry," said Hermione earnestly. Ron was nodding his head in agreement. "But we couldn't."

"Yeah," chimed in Ron, "Dumbledore made us-"

"Swear not to tell you. I know, Hermione already told me that," finished Harry, not bothering to look at the other two as he returned to his ministrations on Hedwig, who had flown onto his shoulder.

"He seemed to think it best," said Hermione rather breathlessly. "Dumbledore, I mean."

"Right," said Harry.

"I think he thought you would be safer with the Muggles-"

"Oh really?" said Harry, finally looking at his friends. "I felt perfectly safe, especially after getting attacked by those dementors. Have you guys been attacked this summer?"

"Well, no. But that's why Dumbledore had people from the Order of the Phoenix following you the whole time-"

Harry's jaw muscles began to twitch as he felt his grip on his temper begin to slip. Everyone knew he was being followed this whole time except for him it seemed. "Didn't work out the end though, did it? Had to take care of myself as per usual," he said, trying to keep his voice even.

"Dumbledore was really angry when he found out. It was actually quite scary," said Hermione, the hint awe in her voice.

"I'm glad Mundungus left," said Harry. "Dumbledore would have probably left me at Privet Drive all summer if I hadn't used magic."

"Aren't you worried about the hearing?"

Harry's head sprung up. "What hearing?"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other. "Er, Dumbledore went to the Ministry to retract your expulsion, but you have to attend a hearing in a few days to sort everything out," said Ron.

"Well, that explains why nobody's shown up to snap my wand," Harry thought aloud. "Do you know why Dumbledore's so keen on keeping me in the dark?" He saw them exchange another look. "Did you even bother to ask?"

"Well, we've only seen Dumbledore twice since we've been here, and he made us swear to not to tell you anything important in our letters to you," said Hermione.

"So he doesn't trust me," mused Harry, sitting down on his bed as Hedwig took flight again and perched on the nightstand.

"Of course he trusts you!" exclaimed Hermione.

"Maybe he thinks I can't take care of myself," said Harry, narrowing his eyes to watch their reactions to what he said.

"Don't be stupid mate," said Ron, looking highly uncomfortable with what Harry was saying. "Everyone knows you can take care of yourself better than most adults!"

"So why does Dumbledore think I have to stay at the Dursleys' and be kept in the dark while you two are off having a grand old adventure huh? How come you get to know everything that's going on while I'm stuck in hell twiddling my thumbs?" growled Harry, his temper rising. Something inside of Harry was rearing its beastly head, clawing at the walls it had been confined to for so long, and now, it wanted out.

"We haven't been in any of the meetings. Mum won't let us-" started Ron, but he never got to finish.

Harry stood up, put one hand under the bed and flipped it, frame, mattress and sheets with one arm. The bed smashed into the wall opposite and landed on the bed under. Springs and wood snapped, and the wall had been caved in from the impact. Hedwig screeched, her wings flapping wildly as she soared up to the wardrobe. Ron and Hermione jumped back in fright at Harry's display of strength. Eyes blazing with an emerald inferno, Harry turned to face his friends.

"OH, SO YOU DONT WHAT THE GROWN UPS ARE TALKING ABOUT AYE? WHO GIVES A SHIT! AT LEAST YOU'VE BEEN HERE TOGETHER! ME, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEYS' FOR A BLOODY MONTH! THE ONLY COMPANY I'VE HAD HAS BEEN MY NIGHTMARES! AND I'VE HANDLED MORE THAN YOU HAVE AND DUMBLEDORE KNOWS IT!

"WHO WAS THE ONE WHO STOPPED VOLDEMORT FROM GETTING THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE? WHO KILLED THE BASILISK AND STOPPED TOM RIDDLE? WHO SAVED YOUR ASSES FROM THE DEMENTORS?!"

Rage. Pure and unbridled rage had explosive in all its destructive glory, and Harry couldn't take it anymore. Every bitter thought and resentment Harry had felt over the past month, his fury at not knowing anything and his isolation from the rest of the world and his hurt at everyone being together while he was alone burst out of Harry.

"WHO HAD TO FIGHT DRAGONS AND SPHINXES AND ALL SORTS OF OTHER MONSTERS ALL LAST YEAR, ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT THEY HAD BEEN SET UP! WHO WATCHED CEDRIC DIGGORY GET MURDERED RIGHT IN FRON OF THEM? WHO FOUGHT VOLDEMORT AND GET WOUNDED BY SOME MONSTER? ME! IT WAS ALL ME!" Ron was standing there with his mouth wide open, his eyes darting from Harry to the overturned bed. Hermione had her hands covering her mouth, her eyes glistening tears.

"BUT NO, LET'S KEEP HARRY IN THE DARK. HE CAN'T HANDLE WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE MOMENT. WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON?"

"Harry, we really wanted to. We really did-" Hermione began.

"CAN'T'VE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME AN OWL ANYWAY, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR-"

"Well, he did-"

"FOUR BLOODY WEEKS I'VE BEEN STUCK AT PRIVET DRIVE, NICKING PAPERS FROM RUBBISH BINS AND TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON BECAUSE NOBODY WANTS TO TELL ME-"

"We wanted to-"

"I SUPPOSE YOU'VE ALL BEEN HAVING A GRAND OLD TIME TOGETHER HAVEN'T YOU? HOLED UP WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY-"

"OI! What's going on in here?" shouted Fred Weasley, who'd just come in along with his twin brother George.

"GET OUT!" roared Harry, reaching over to the nightstand and throwing a book at the others'. Ron had barely managed to duck in time before it slammed into the wall behind him. The twins beat a hasty retreat back outside, while Ron and Hermione watched as Harry punched a wall, putting a clean hole through it.

"Just... get out," whispered Harry, the last strings holding his anger in check threatening to snap. Ron backed out of the room, grabbing Hermione's wrist when she hesitated. They closed the door just as Harry started tearing into the rest of the bedroom.

"Did you see him throw the bed like it was nothing?" said Ron, his voice sounding awestruck.

"He's so angry. But he's right about everything. We've been horrible to him," sobbed Hermione.

"He'll be alright. He just needs a little time to sort himself out," said Ron. His statement was followed by a loud tearing sound from inside the bedroom, followed by a roar of fury. "No seriously, did you see him throw that bed?"

oOoOoOo

Harry fell to his knees, breathing heavily as the beast within him settled back into its cage, waiting to force itself out at a later date. The bedroom was completely destroyed. Both beds had been torn apart, the nightstand thrown over into a wall and it remained stuck halfway through Harry and Ron's room and the room next door. The wardrobe had been toppled over and ripped apart by Harry's bare hands, the mirror had been smashed and the shards scattered all over the bedroom floor, and some stuck out of Harry's arm, though he didn't notice. The only item that had been spared from Harry's wrath was the empty portrait, as Harry hadn't been able to pry it off the wall.

Hedwig hooted softly from atop the remains of the wardrobe, calling out to see if her master was fine. Harry blinked several times as he looked around the war zone that had become his bedroom. Remorse and shame replaced his anger. He shouldn't have exploded in front of his friends like that and shouldn't have blamed them for things that were out of their control, but Harry's sanity had been hanging on the edge of a thread, and unfortunately his friends had been there when it slipped. What was wrong with him? He'd always had a bit of a temper but he had never been so angry like that before in his life ever.

Almost in answer the scars of the bite mark on Harry's shoulder ached. _Well if that isn't telling me something I don't know what will,_ thought Harry. He need to find some answers and soon. Harry stood up and stretched his muscles and covered the injuries on his arm by rolling the sleeves of his shirt down before moving the fallen wardrobe over so he could reach the door. He closed the door behind him, not wanting anyone to see the damage he had caused yet and headed downstairs. Harry followed his nose, it having picked up the delicious smell of Mrs Weasley's cooking. He walked into the kitchen and dining room, which appeared to be much cleaner than the rest of the house.

Seated at the table were all the Weasleys minus Charlie and Percy, along with Hermione, Tonks, Professor Lupin, Moody, Shacklebolt, Mr Bell and Sirius. Mrs Weasley was busy bustling around the table, making sure that everyone was being fed and checking to see if the twins hadn't done anything to her food. Everyone else must have left after finishing their secret meeting (which Harry still wanted to know about). Sirius looked up from his plate and smiled when he saw Harry, and Harry couldn't help but smile back at the sight of his godfather. He looked good, Harry noted, much better than the last time Harry saw him. The last of his gaunt look had disappeared, his eyes no longer sunken into their sockets, and his face had a healthy glow to it that was further accented by his well-trimmed beard. He was still a little on the thin side, but was no longer the walking skeleton that he had been in Harry's third year.

Sirius stood up from his seat and walking around the table, extending his arms towards Harry. Harry immediately ran into those arms and hugged Sirius tightly, finally happy to be with someone who would understand him completely. They remained in there embrace fro several moments before Sirius let go of Harry and messed up his hair, making Harry's already messy hair worse. Harry grumbled and lightly punched Sirius in the arm, making Sirius wince slightly.

"Geez Harry, you need to be careful or you might hurt me," joked Sirius. Harry grinned.

"Sorry. We wouldn't want to break you now that you're old and frail," said Harry. Immediately Sirius' smile fell and his face contorted into mock rage, but the two couldn't keep their faces straight and burst into laughter.

"You look good, really good actually," said Sirius once they had stopped laughing.

"You don't look too bad yourself," replied Harry. Sirius' grin grew even wider as he led Harry back to the table, drawing a seat next to him. Harry muttered hellos to Tonks and Shacklebolt, but stiffened when the smell of wet dog wafted past Harry's nose. The hairs on the back of Harry's neck immediately shot up and he searched for the source of the disgusting smell. His eyes zeroed in on Professor Lupin, who was staring back at Harry with a look of revulsion on his face.

"You smell awful, Professor Lupin," said Harry as he scrunched up his nose. Sirius burst into laughter and smacked his hands on the table, drawing the attention of the others in the room.

"Says the kid who smells like Mrs Figg's house," replied Professor Lupin. Harry looked taken aback for a moment before he too started laughing, and so did Professor Lupin.

"Seriously, why do you smell so bad?" asked Harry.

"I've smelt the same as I always have Harry since I was turned into a werewolf," said Lupin. "But I cannot say the same for you. Your scent has changed." Harry looked over to Sirius, who had stopped laughing and gave him a quizzical look. Sirius only shrugged and went back to his meal. Harry grabbed a plate and loaded it up with all of his favourites of Mrs Weasley's cooking, and took to it like Ron would at a feast at Hogwarts. He ignored the worried glances that Ron and Hermione were giving him, he still felt guilty about snapping at them earlier. He joined in on some of the light banter going on between the two Marauders, Shacklebolt and Mr Bell and learned much about the three newcomers.

Kingsley Shacklebolt was one of the top Aurors in the Ministry and had joined the Order of the Phoenix at the end of the school term when Dumbledore approached him. Tonks was also an Auror and Moody's protege, and also happened to be the daughter of Sirius' cousin Andromeda, who had been disowned by the Black family after she feel in love with and married a Muggleborn wizard, making Tonks Sirius cousin once removed. She was also a Metamorphmagus, a witch who had the ability to completely alter their appearance at will, which she demonstrated on several occasions throughout the night by changing her hair colour and making her face look like several animals, much to the amusement of everyone who saw. Mr Bell was a quiet but friendly man who worked in the Department of Magical Games and Sports in the Ministry of Magic and had, like Shacklebolt, been approached by Dumbledore. Harry discovered it was his job and heavy involvement in Quidditch that had started his daughter Katie's fascination with Quidditch. Katie was his only child and Harry was of the opinion that Mr Bell was fiercely protective of his wife and daughter, which was the main motivating factor behind his joining the Order of the Phoenix.

"What is the Order of the Phoenix?" asked Harry. Immediately everybody quieted. Sirius exchanged looks with Lupin and Moody.

"The Order of the Phoenix is a group formed by Dumbledore during the First War to combat Voldemort and his Death Eater army. Your mother and father were a part of this group in the First War as well," said Sirius.

"Dumbledore reformed it again after you came back from the graveyard," added Lupin.

"What have you guys done so far to combat Voldemort?" asked Harry, ignoring the flinches of several people in the room.

"Nothing really," said Sirius. "We've mainly been recruiting people to the Order and keeping tabs on known Death Eaters like Lucius Malfoy." Harry nodded his understanding. Was it seriously that hard for Ron or Hermione to say that? "I'm surprised that you're asking me these questions Harry. I thought Ron or Hermione would have told you all about the Order," continued Sirius.

"Well, it's not like I didn't ask," said Harry. Ron and Hermione flushed with embarrassment at Harry's cutting remark, but Harry continued. "Besides, they said that they weren't allowed in the Order-"

"And they're absolutely right, you're too young!" cut in Mrs Weasley from the other end of the table.

"Since when did you have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" asked Sirius. "Harry's been trapped with those Muggles for a month, he has a right to know what's happen-"

"Wait a minute!" interrupted George loudly.

"What about us? How come Harry gets his questions answered and we don't!" said Fred angrily.

"We've been trying to get this stuff out of you for a month. Harry just walks in and suddenly all his questions are being answered!"

"No offence mate," said Fred to Harry, winking.

"We're adults now! Harry's not even of age!" continued George.

"That's not my fault, it's your parents' decision to make whether or not you get to know these things," said Sirius. "Harry on the other hand-"

"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry!" said mrs Weasley sharply. Her face looked downright dangerous now as she glared at Sirius. Sirius, for the most part returned Mrs Weasley's glare politely, though Harry could see his shoulder's tensing. "Or have you forgotten what Dumbledore said?" continued Mrs Weasley.

"Which part? You mean the part where Dumbledore said that Harry doesn't need to know certain things, despite it being obvious that he might?" challenged Sirius. Fred, George, Ron and Hermione heads kept swiveling as they followed the argument between Mrs Weasley as if they were watching a tennis match. Ginny had sat up in her seat (having been secretly feeding Crookshanks her scraps) and was staring at Sirius and Harry intently, her mouth slightly open. Lupin was looking at Sirius sharply, silently warning him not to take this too far.

"I don't mean to tell Harry everything," said Sirius. "But I also won't lie to him about anything he asks me and he has more than a right to know-"

"He's not even a member of the Order!" said Mrs Weasley. "He's only fifteen-"

"And been through more than most of the people in this room can claim," said Sirius sharply.

"Nobody's denying that!" said Mrs Weasley, her voice rising now and her body beginning to tremble. "But he's still a-"

"He's not a child anymore!" shouted Sirius.

"He's not an adult either!" shouted Mrs Weasley back. "And he's not James, despite how much you wish he was!"

"Excuse me?" growled Harry, his own temper rising. He looked Mrs Weasley dead in the eyes. "What's wrong with being like my father?"

"Nothing! But despite how much you look like him, you are not your father!" answered Mrs Weasley, her eyes shifting back to Sirius. "You are still at school and should be treated as such."

"Oh I'm sorry, but forgive me if I don't want to act like everything's fine and dandy like a good boy while the world is about to go to war," said Harry, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"I'm not saying that! But you should let the adults responsible for you make the decisions," said Mrs Weasley.

"Oh, and I'm not a responsible godfather?" demanded Sirius.

"You have a propensity to act rashly Sirius, which is why Dumbledore has ordered you to stay in Grimmauld Place," answered Mrs Weasley.

"Leave Dumbledore's orders out of this!" said Sirius loudly. Mrs Weasley ignored him and turned back to Harry, who was now breathing heavily. "Despite all you've been through Harry, you are still a boy!"

"I stopped being a boy the moment I watched Cedric get murdered by Wormtail," snarled Harry. Everyone froze at Harry's comment. Even Mrs Weasley had the grace to look ashamed at what she had said.

"I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean it like that," said Mrs Weasley. "It's just- you're as good as my own son and I can't help but feel that I need to protect you." Harry's heart warmed at Mrs Weasley's confession that she considered him like a son, but he was still angry at her attempted coddling.

"I think," cut in Lupin, "that Harry doesn't need to know the specifics just yet, but we can give him the general overview of the goings on."

Mrs Weasley visibly deflated at that. "Fine," she said. "Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, up to bed, all of you." There was instant uproar.

"We're of age!" Fred and George yelled together.

"If Harry's allowed, why can't we?" shouted Ron, pointing to himself and Hermione.

"But Mum! I want to hear!" wailed Ginny.

"NO!" shouted Mrs Weasley. "No more! You're all going-"

"Let Fred and George stay," said Mr Weasley wearily, joining in for the first time that night.

"But-"

"They're legal adults now Molly, they have a right to this."

Mrs Weasley huffed. "Fine. Ron, Hermione, Ginny-"

"NO!" shouted Ron. "Harry'll tell Hermione and I everything anyway, right Harry?"

Harry contemplated leaving his friends in the dark, just for them to see how they liked it, but instead he saw an opportunity to reconcile between the three of them. "Sure I will," he said. Ron and Hermione beamed, recognizing and accepting the apology that was hidden in there.

"Fine!" conceded Mrs Weasley. "But not you Ginny."

Ginny did not go quietly. Mrs Weasley had to almost drag her daughter out of the kitchen and the ensuing argument could be heard even when they were upstairs. The portrait of Mrs Black added to those screams and Lupin rushed off to fix that problem, but Sirius waited for him to return to his seat before speaking.

"Now Harry... what do you want to know?"

Harry took a deep breath before answering. "Where's Voldemort?" he asked, ignoring the winces and shudders in the room. "What's he planning? Why hasn't there been any disappearances or funny deaths?"

"That's because there hasn't been anything of the sort yet," said Sirius. "He's been lying low since his plan got butchered."

"What plan?"

"You! You weren't supposed to survive that night in the graveyard. If it weren't for that lion-man coming in, odds are we'd still be in the dark about everything and you'd be dead," said Sirius.

"Have you figured out what that thing was?" asked Harry.

Lupin shook his head. "No, but whatever it was, based on your description and the nature of its bite I'd say it's some sort of rare creature related to a werewolf," he said. "Based on the fact that you can smell my scent, I'd say its bite has given you some advantages. Tell me, is there anything else that's different about yourself since you were bitten?"

Harry paled a little bit. Should he tell them what he had been doing just a couple of hours earlier? "I can hear better," said Harry. "I can also hyper aware of everything around me. It was really annoying at first but I've learned to tune most things out."

Lupin nodded his head. "Anything else?" he asked.

"Er... yeah. I'm also a bit stronger than I was before," he said sheepishly.

"A bit?" said Ron incredulously. "Mate, you threw a whole bed across the bedroom with one hand!" Harry glared at his best friend, who immediately shut up, but the damage had been done.

"When did you throw a bed?" asked Sirius in an amused tone.

"Just after I got here," said Harry. "I sort of lost my temper and destroyed the bedroom." Everyone looked at Harry with various emotions on their faces. The twins and Bill were looking at him with something akin to respect, while many of the Aurors in the room were suddenly very nervous. Sirius only grinned.

"How badly did you destroy it?" he asked gleefully.

"Er... like a hurricane ripped through it?" suggested Harry. Sirius and Lupin burst into fits of laughter, clutching each other mirthfully.

"Oh, if my dear mother could have seen that," said Sirius wistfully.

"We're getting off topic," growled Moody.

"Right," said Sirius, straightening himself. "What else do you want to know?"

"What's Voldemort's- oh for Merlin's sake IT'S JUST A NAME!" snapped Harry after the majority of people winced at the name. "How the hell do you expect to fight him if you can't even say his name!"

"Well said Harry," said Lupin. "But what were you asking?"

"Do you know what he's planning?"

The Order members all glanced at each other before Sirius answered. "Not exactly. Right now we think he's gone underground and is regathering his forces. Much like us," he said. "We also have reason to believe that he might be looking for something, something he didn't have last time."

"Like a weapon?" asked Harry.

"Something like that."

"That's enough," said Mrs Weasley, finally coming back into the kitchen. "It's getting late and you all need to rest."

Nobody argued with her, as it was indeed getting late, so the teenagers all trudged up the stairs to their bedrooms, followed by Sirius and Lupin who had followed Harry to help repair the mess he had made. Sirius let out a long whistle when he surveyed the damage, while Ron muttered "bloody hell."

"Nothing we can't fix," said Sirius as he and Lupin pulled out their wands and began waving them in the air. Straightaway the furniture repaired itself and rearranged back to its original positions and the walls fixed themselves. The scattered feathers all flew back into the mattresses and pillows as they reknit back together. The smashed mirror shards all jumped back onto the nightstand and sealed itself back together without a crack, although Harry had to stifle a wince when some of the smaller shards imbedded in his arm flew out and rejoined itself back together, reopening some of his cuts.

"Next time you lose your temper Harry, there's a room I'd love to show you," said Sirius and with a wink he and lupin left, closing the door behind them. Harry and Ron looked at each other for a moment.

"Look, I'm sorry about snapping at-"

"Save it mate," said Ron. "We haven't been the best of friends to you and we deserved it."

Harry smiled at Ron, surprised at his display of maturity. He hopped into his pajamas and bid Ron goodnight before turning off the light and climbing into his newly repaired bedroom.

oOoOoOo

That night, Harry wasn't confronted by his usual reliving of the death of Cedric and the return of Voldemort. Instead, he saw a dark hallway with a blue door at the end. Harry felt like he needed something beyond that door, but now wasn't the time to get it.


	5. Chapter 5- The Hearing of Harry Potter

_A/N- Thanks for the reviews guys, I really appreciate them. I know, there haven't been many but not many people to see a story about a Harry/Katie pairing, but oh well! Now, without further ado, I give you chapter 5._

 **Chapter 5- The Hearing of Harry James Potter**

"Oi! Time to wake up!" boomed a cheerful voice. Harry woke up blearily, snorting in discomfort when someone whacked his head with a piece of fabric. Harry couldn't make out the perpetrator properly until he put his glasses on and looked up at the grinning faces of Fred and George. Ron was still fast asleep and the twins looked like they were planning something. George put a finger to his lips as Fred snuck over to Ron's bed, slipping his hand into a pocket in his jeans. He pulled out a small, black ball and gave it a squeeze, which caused the little ball to duplicate into two, then four, then eight balls. Fred placed them around Ron's bed and stepped back next to his twin.

"Three...two...one..." counted down George.

 _BOOM!_ The little balls exploded all around Ron, jolting the poor boy from his sleep so fast he fell off his bed.

"AAAARRRRGGGH!" he screeched when he fell, followed by a muffled "OOF!" when he hit the floor. Harry, Fred and George were practically toppling over one another as they laughed loudly. Harry had to take his glasses off to wipe the tears streaming down his face while George helped Fred off the ground, where he had buckled down to whilst clutching his stomach. Meanwhile, Ron had a hilarious indignant look on his face, which of course only set the other three into more fits of laughter. Ron pulled himself up off the ground and stormed out of the bedroom, still in his pajamas. He quickly returned and grabbed some clothes and a bath towel before he left again, trying to look like his dignity was still intact, though his face was still tomato red.

Still chuckling, Harry kicked the twins out of the room and got changed into some fresh closed and checked his arm. Surprisingly, there were no half-healed cuts from the mirror's shards from last night. Instead, the only signs that Harry had even hurt himself were the small pink lines that blended in anyway with Harry's fair complexion. Harry thought that this rapid healing might have been another ability given to him from the lion-man's bite. Harry pulled on a black t-shirt, comfortable that nobody would even see the small scars on his arm unless they knew what to look for.

Unfortunately, one of those people just happened to be living in the same house as Harry. When he went downstairs into the basement kitchen for breakfast, Hermione's eyes automatically zoomed in on said scars and narrowed. Harry grinned sheepishly and gave her a look that said "later." Hermione nodded and went back to eating her bacon and eggs while Harry sat down next to her. Ron came into the kitchen next, his red hair still wet from the shower, followed by the twins and Ginny. Ron glared at Harry, who returned it with a cheeky smile before helping himself to some bacon and toast. Sirius and Bill were already there as well and seemed to be having a quiet discussion in the corner.

Mrs Weasley bustled into the kitchen a few moments later just as everyone was settling in and told them that they would be cleaning the house for the day. Her statement was met with groans from the four youngest Weasleys while Hermione visibly sagged. Sirius and Bill chuckled and Harry only felt amused. It certainly sounded a lot better than sitting around at Privet Drive.

Oh how wrong Harry was. Within twenty minutes of cleaning, he had been bitten all over his arms by a nest of Doxies, was completely covered in dust and already been in an argument with the Black Family house elf Kreacher over a strange locket. Kreacher had Disapparated before Harry was able to get his hands on the retched elf, which made Harry fume and mutter obscenities for the rest of the afternoon. Luckily for Harry the Doxy venom did nothing to him thanks to his newly discovered healing factor, only providing him with a slightly itchy rash and some discomfort for a few minutes.

The next day, if anything, was worse. Harry and Ron had accidentally stumbled upon a boggart that they found in an old cupboard when they tried to move it, and had to get the help of Lupin ("Please Harry, I'm no longer your teacher so Remus is fine,") who effectively banished it after turning the boggart into exploding confetti. Everyone was bitten by a Doxy or ten at some point during the Black House makeover but Mrs Weasley had ordered enough Doxy antivenin to last months, which, in harry's opinion, was how long it would take before the house stopped looking like some Dark Wizard's lair and more like an inhabitable environment.

Hermione suffered the worst attack when she disturbed a nest of Doxies and they decided to make a home of her hair, and Mrs Weasley was forced to cut the poor girl's hair up to her shoulders to get rid of the vile pests. Harry took note of Ron gawking at Hermione's new haircut with surprised curiosity, but said nothing about it. The twins made a joke of Hermione's ordeal, blaming her bushy hair for looking like a bird's nest. Mrs Weasley almost hexed them and forced her sons to continue cleaning out their broom cupboard while everyone else had lunch, without magic.

Harry had only one other temper tantrum when a whole swarm of Doxies attacked him and bit him all over his body. He proceeded to tear the unfortunate pixies to pieces until he was completely covered in gooey purple blood and was forced to take a shower by Mrs Weasley.

And so, on and on the cleaning continued. To Harry it felt like they weren't accomplishing anything, though the house was feeling more orderly than when he first arrived. Every few nights there was an Oder of the Phoenix meeting, which the teenagers were not privy to, though it didn't stop them from testing out the latest of Fred and George's products, the Extendable Ears. However it didn't always work as the important meetings were blocked off by an Imperturbable Charm, and the less import meetings contained barely any information worth noting. In the moments when Harry wasn't either cleaning, eating or sleeping, his time was spent with Sirius and Mr Weasley to prepare him for his upcoming hearing. Mr Weasley taught Harry all about the ins and outs of the Ministry while Sirius, being the Head of a Most Ancient and Noble House, knew all about the Wizengamot, its structure, the members and how the system ran itself.

Harry woke up early and abruptly the morning of the hearing, his nerves alight at the prospect of the hearing that was fast approaching. He leapt out of bed and tripped over his own feet and landed on the floor with a dull thud, which didn't even stir the still snoring Ron. The empty picture sniggered lightly. Scowling, Harry helped himself up off the floor and put on the freshly laundered and ironed shirt and jeans that had been laid on the foot of his bed, courtesy of Mrs Weasley. Harry crossed the bedroom and took a quick glance at Ron, wandering if this would be the last time that he saw Ron as a fellow student. He closed the door softly behind himself as Harry stepped out into the landing and down the stairs, past the House Elf shrine and into the kitchen.

Harry expected it to be empty, but was quite surprised to hear the rumble of voices behind the door before he opened it. Mr and Mrs Weasley, Sirius, Remus and Tonks were all sitting at the table drinking tea as if they were waiting for him. Remus and Tonks were engaged in some light banter but stopped and smiled at Harry when they saw him. Everyone was dressed in day clothes except for Mrs Weasley, who was dressed in a purple nightgown.

"Breakfast," she said, leaping to her feet and pulling out her wand as she ran over to the fire.

"M-morning harry," yawned Tonks, rubbing her eyes wearily. Her hair was blond and curly this morning. "Sleep alright?"

"Could have been better," admitted Harry.

"I've been up all n-night," said Tonks, trying to stifle another yawn. "Come and sit," she said, pulling out the chair next to her while knocking over the one next to it in the process. Harry had discovered over the past two weeks since he had come to Grimmauld Place that Tonks was extremely prone to clumsiness. "Damn," she muttered as Harry picked up the fallen chair and sat down in the one she had pulled out.

"What would you like Harry?" called out Mrs Weasley. "Porridge? Toast?"

"Just toast thanks," said Harry, although he felt like he couldn't eat anything.

Remus glanced at Harry then turned back to Tonks. "What were you saying about Scrimgeour?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh... yeah. We need to be more careful, he's been asking Kingsley and me funny questions..."

Harry tuned them out, focussing on eating the toast that Mrs Weasley had put in front of him. He was sure that it was quite delicious, it was Mrs Weasley's food after all, but to him, it felt like he was eating cardboard. His insides were squirming uncomfortably. Mrs Weasley sat down next to Harry and began fussing over him, straightening his collar and smoothing out the creases on his shoulders. If he wasn't so nervous, Harry would probably have found it amusing.

"...and I'll have to tell Dumbledore I can't do night duty tonight, I'm just too tired," finished Tonks, yawning loudly again.

"I'll cover for you," offered Mr Weasley. "I have to finish some reports in the office anyway." Mr Weasley turned to Harry. "How are you feeling?" Harry shrugged.

"It'll be all over soon, don't worry," Mr Weasley said bracingly. "Soon enough you'll be cleared and we can put this all behind us."

Harry didn't say anything and continued staring at his half eaten toast. Mr Weasley stood up and gave Mrs Weasley a kiss. "We should be heading off now," he said.

"Good luck Harry. And remember, don't lose your temper, we wouldn't want you to tear apart the entire Wizengamot," said Sirius with a smirk on his face.

"The law's on your side Harry, even underage wizards can use magic in life-threatening situations," encouraged Remus with a wave. Tonks only grunted her farewell as she was beginning to fall asleep fast. Harry stood up from his seat and gave Mrs Weasley a hug before he followed Mr Weasley outside Grimmauld Place and stepped onto the footpath and began walking at a brisk pace.

"You don't usually walk to work do you?" asked Harry.

"No, I usually Apparate, but it's probably best we arrive in the non-magical fashion. Gives a better impression," said Mr Weasley. They continued down through the rundown neighbourhood and went down to the underground train station and bought some tickets before boarding a train that took them into central London. They got off the train in the very heart of London, almost being swept away in the tide of countless men and women heading to work. Harry and Mr Weasley climbed the escalator up to the surface, where Mr Weasley led Harry through the streets of London. After walking several blocks, they arrived at a more rundown part of the city, where Mr Weasley directed Harry into a telephone box.

"This is the visitor's entrance into the Ministry," explained Mr Weasley. It was a tight fit, but Mr Weasley was able to reach around Harry and grab the receiver. "Let's see... six..." he dialed the number, "two... four... another four... and another two..." the dial whirled back into place and a cool female voice spoke from within the telephone box.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

"Er...' said Mr Weasley, looking from Harry to the receiver and back again. He raised the receiver to his mouth "Arthur Weasley, Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, here to escort Harry Potter, who has been asked to attend a disciplinary hearing."

"Thank you," said the voice. "Visitor, please take the badge provided and attach it to the front of your robes." A small badge popped out of the metal chute where coins were inserted in. Harry grabbed it. The small silver badge read _Harry Potter: Disciplinary Hearing._ "Visitor, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for inspection at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium." The box shuddered then began to sink into the ground until they were consumed by darkness.

Harry couldn't see anything for a few moments until a sliver of light appeared at his feet, which steadily grew larger until Harry found himself inside the largest and most elaborate hall he had ever seen. The floor was made of a highly polished and dark wooden floor. The ceiling was a peacock blue colour with shimmering golden symbols that regularly changed like a gleaming noticeboard. The walls were paneled with shiny dark wood the same colour as the floor and had many fireplaces set into them for the numerous wizards and witches coming and going. In the centre of the hall was a large fountain. Circling a pool was a group of statues, the tallest of which was a noble-looking wizard with a beautiful witch standing beside him, while a centaur, a house elf and a goblin looked up at them with adoring looks.

Mr Weasley led Harry over to the security desk, where he handed his wand to a tired looking wizard who eyed Harry warily. Mr Weasley struck up a conversation with another security wizard while Harry waited for his wand to be registered before they headed towards the elevators located at the back of the hall. They filed into one elevator along with several other witches and wizards before it ascended up into the higher levels. The elevator stopped several times to let others in or out before Harry and Mr Weasley were the last two in the elevator where it continued upwards until it stopped at Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administration Services.

"This is us Harry," said Mr Weasley. the duo filed out of the elevator and headed down the long hallway. They were briefly waylaid by Kingsley Shacklebolt, who slipped Mr Weasley a motors magazine to give to Sirius and Mr Weasley invited Kingsley over for dinner. They continued down the hallway, through a set of oak doors, through some turnoffs and finally into another set of lifts. The lift descended down into the lower levels of the Ministry.

"Don't know why they're holding it all the way down here," said Mr Weasley. "These courtrooms haven't been used in years." The lift stopped at 'The Department of Mysteries,' where Harry and Mr Weasley clambered out of the lift and down the dark hallway, then down a flight of steps until they reached Courtroom Ten. The entrance was an intimidating set of heavy wooden doors with iron bolts and key holes. Mr Weasley stopped at the entrance and gently pushed Harry forward.

"What-aren't you-" started Harry.

"Not allowed," said mr Weasley. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just stick to the facts." And with that Mr Weasley turned back around and left Harry by himself. Harry opened the door and gasped.

It was the same courtroom he had seen inside Dumbledore's Pensieve in his fourth year when he watched the trial of Barty Crouch Junior and the Lestranges. The walls were made of a dark, rough stone, dimly lit by torches. Most of the benches were empty except for the higher leveled ones, upon which shadowy figures sat. In the middle of the courtroom was a single, large wooden chair with chains that dangled from its thick arms. Harry had seen those same chains bind whoever to the chair.

"Take a seat," said an ominous voice. Harry's steps echoed loudly as he walked across the stone floor over to the chair. He sat down gingerly on the chair, eyeing the chains cautiously, but they never snapped around his arms. Feeling quite sick, Harry looked up to the people sitting above him.

There were about fifty of them as far as he could see, wearing plum coloured robes with an elaborate silver 'W' on the left side. They were all staring down their noses at Harry, and he had the disturbing feeling that he had come to an early Judgement Day. In the very middle of the front row sat Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. On Fudge's left sat a woman with a square jaw and short grey hair, she wore a monocle and looked quite intimidating. Harry couldn't make out the features of the person on Fudge's right as they were not sitting in any light.

"Very well," said Fudge. "The accused being present, I hereby call this hearing to order. Are you ready?"

"Yes sir," said a familiar voice. Harry looked over to the end of the front bench and saw Percy Weasley, with a quill in hand and looking at Fudge eagerly. Ron had told Harry about Percy's alignment with the Ministry, saying that the pompous Weasley had turned his back on both his family and Harry.

"Disciplinary hearing on the twelfth of August," said Fudge in a ringing voice that carried throughout the courtroom while Percy began taking notes, "into offences committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter, resident at Number Four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.

"Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic.; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley-"

"Witness for the Defence, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," said a quiet, but commanding voice behind Harry. Harry turned around and saw his headmaster walk into the room serenely, wearing outrageous blue robes and a perfectly calm expression on his face.

"I-er-well, glad you could make it," stammered Fudge. It was obvious to Harry that Fudge was counting on Dumbledore to not show up, for which Harry was gladdened, for it meant that he now had a fighting chance.

"Right," said Fudge. "Well, the charges. Yes." He extricated a piece of parchment from the pile sitting before him, took a deep breath, and began to read out, "The charges against the accused are as follows:

"That he did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions, having been previously warned from the Ministry of Magic on a similar charge, produce a Patronus Charm in a Muggle-inhabited area, in the presence of a Muggle, on the second of August at twenty-three minutes past nine, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery in 1875, and also under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy.

"You are Harry James Potter of Number Four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?" said Fudge, glaring at Harry.

"Yes," said Harry.

"You received an official warning three years prior on similar charges?"

"Yes, but-"

"And yet you conjured a Patronus on the second of August of this year?"

"Yes but-"

"Knowing you were in an area inhabited by Muggles?"

"Yes but-"

"Fully aware you were in close proximity to a Muggle at the time?"

"My cousin. He already knew about-" he was cut off again, this time by the woman with the monocle.

"You produced a Patronus?" she asked in a booming voice.

"Yes," said Harry. "But-"

"A fully corporeal Patronus?"

"A what?"

"Corporeal. Your Patronus took a form and not a vapor or shield?" she elaborated.

"Yes."

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen, but-"

"And its form?"

"A stag, it's always been a stag."

"Always?"

"I've been able to do it for over a year now," said Harry.

"Impressive," said Madam Bones, leaning back in her chair. Some of the witches and wizards around her began to mutter amongst themselves.

"Yes very impressive," said Fudge impatiently. "but the more impressive the worse it is, given the fact that he did in in front of a Muggle!"

Some of the members seated began nodding their heads in agreement, and Harry started to get angry, the beast inside him sniffing the air testily.

"Oh, you mean the Muggle who is my cousin, who happens to already know about magic?" he snapped. Behind him, Harry heard Dumbledore sigh. However, some of the members of the Wizengamot, including Fudge and Madam Bones, looked taken aback.

"We were not aware of this," said Madam Bones, giving a quick glare in the direction of Fudge. Meanwhile, Percy was furiously scribbling down notes on his notepad.

"Regardless, he still performed underage magic," said Fudge testily.

"I was only doing it because of the dementors!" shouted Harry. The whole room fell into silence at the revelation.

"Dementors? What do you mean boy?" said Madam Bones.

"I mean my cousin and I were attacked by two dementors that night, which is why I used the Patronus Charm!"

"Ah a very likely tale," said Fudge, staring around at the Wizengamot like he was sharing a joke. "But you have had plenty of time to come up with this story no doubt so the fact remains that-"

"That I saved mine and my cousin's life," interrupted Harry.

"Why you little-" spluttered Fudge indignantly.

"Enough Cornelius," said Madam Bones.

"Yes... well," said Fudge, thoroughly cowed under the woman's stern gaze. "Unfortunately, we do not have any witnesses to back up Mr Potter's-"

"Actually," said Dumbledore, speaking for the first time since the hearing began, "we do." He gestured towards the giant doors, which opened and in filed a very nervous-looking Mrs Figg. Harry could practically smell the fear coming off her as the gazed up at the intimidating seated members of the Wizengamot. Dumbledore conjured a plush chair for the Squib to sit down on. "I may be wrong," continued Dumbledore, "but under the Wizengamot Charter of Rights, the accused has the right to present witnesses in their defence for his or her case?" He looked at Madam Bones.

"That is correct," said Madam Bones, nodding her head towards Dumbledore.

"Very well," said Dumbledore. "Arabella?"

Mrs Figg looked nervously up at Fudge.

"Full name?" said Fudge loudly.

"Arabella Doreen Figg," said Mrs Figg.

"And who exactly are you?" said Fudge, in a bored tone.

"I'm a resident of Little Whinging, close to where Harry Potter lives," explained Mrs Figg.

"We have no records of another witch or wizard living in that area," said Madam Bones.

"I'm a Squib," said Mrs Figg. "So you wouldn't have me on record."

"A Squib eh?" said Fudge. "Can Squibs even see dementors?"

"Yes we can!" said Mrs Figg indignantly.

Fudge looked her up and down, his eyebrows raised. "Very well, what is your story?" he asked aloofly.

"Well," began Mrs Figg, "I was just coming back from the corner store at the end of Wisteria Walk, around nine o'clock to buy cat food. I heard a disturbance in the alleyway between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk, so I went to investigate. I looked in just as one dementor was being chased off by this great big silver stag, and I also saw these two boys. One of them was holding a wand and the other one was making a run for it. Another dementor had come in from the other side of the alleyway and attacked the running boy, but the one with the wand came and punched it in the face just as the stag came back and chased the other dementor away.

"I intervened after that and escorted Mister Potter and his cousin home," finished Mrs Figg.

"What did they look like?" asked Madam Bones, narrowing her eyes at the Squib.

"Well, one was slighter shorter, and the other quite a large boy..."

"No, no," said Madam Bones impatiently, "the Dementors, what did they look like?"

"Oh," said Mrs Figg, her neck beginning to flush pink now. "Well, they were big and wore these tattered black cloaks."

Harry's stomach dropped. It sounded like Mrs Figg was giving a description of the dementors from a textbook she read.

"Big and wearing tattered black cloaks," repeated Madam Bones coolly, her eyes narrowing further, while Fudge snorted. "I see. Anything else?"

"Yes," said Mrs Figg. "I felt them. Everything went cold when the first one flew by me, and this was a very hot summer's night, mind you. And I felt... as though I would never be happy again, like all the joy had been sucked from the planet... and I remembered... terrible, dreadful things..." her voice died away.

"Can you describe Mister Potter's Patronus?" said Madam Bones.

"Yes," said Mrs Figg, sitting straighter in her chair. "It was very big, one of the largest Patronus' I've ever seen, and I've seen Dumbledore cast a Patronus before." Harry smirked. "It looked so lifelike as well. The detail on the animal was flawless and it had this beautiful silvery-white glow to it as well. It rammed into the second dementor with its antlers you see and threw it away and came back to Mister Potter almost protectively."

"Patronus Charms can't touch dementors, only repel them," snapped Fudge.

"I know what I saw Minister," said Mrs Figg.

"Very well," said Fudge. "You may go." Mrs Figg looked from Fudge to Madam Bones to Dumbledore before hopping off her chair and shuffling out of the room, the door closing with a loud thud behind her.

"Not a very convincing witness," said Fudge loftily.

"Oh I don't know," said Madam bones. "She certainly described the effects of the dementors very accurately, along with the events of the attack."

"But dementors wandering in a Muggle suburb and just happened upon the only wizard living there?" snorted Fudge. "The odds of that are very, very low."

"Oh, I don't think it was a coincidence," said Dumbledore lightly. The witch sitting to the right of Fudge, whose features were still cast in shadow, shifted slightly.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" question Fudge icily.

"I think it means they were ordered there," said Dumbledore.

"I think we would have a record of that!" spat Fudge.

"Then perhaps the dementors are taking orders from somebody other than the Ministry of Magic these days," said Dumbledore calmly. "You have already heard my views on the matter Cornelius."

"Yes you have," said Fudge forcefully. "And I have no reason to believe your views Dumbledore other than the words of another, whose testimony is suspect!"

Harry didn't have to ask to know who Fudge meant.

"Then the question remains," said Dumbledore quietly. "Who would go behind the Ministry of Magic's back and let two dementors loose from Azkaban to attack two boys on the second of August?"

In the complete silence that followed Dumbledore's words, the witch on Fudge's right leaned forward, and Harry had to resist gagging at the sight.

He thought she looked like a large, pale toad that was some long lost relative of Uncle Vernon's. Underneath her plum robes were the hints of the ugliest shade of pink Harry had seen. Her mouth was very wide an slack, her eyes large and bulging slightly. Even the small black bow perched atop her short curly hair gave Harry the impression of a toad, waiting for a fly to come across its way so it could snatch it up with its long, sticky tongue.

"The chair recognizes Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister," said Fudge.

"I'm sorry, but I'm sure I misunderstood you, Professor Dumbledore," she said, her voice falsely high that made the hairs on the back of Harry's head to rise. "So silly of me. But it seemed as though you were implying that someone within the Ministry ordered the attack on Harry and his cousin!"

"It would appear that way," said Dumbledore. "Unless, of course, there are dementors that are working for someone else?"

"There are no dementors outside of the control of the Ministry!" snapped Fudge, his chubby face turning red.

"Of course," said Dumbledore politely. "Though I am sure that the matter of two dementors working outside of the Ministry's jurisdiction will be investigated?" he asked, inclining his head to Madam Bones, who frowned slightly.

"May I remind those present that this hearing is not to discuss the issue of two rogue dementors, but rather Mister Potter's use of underage magic in the presence of a Muggle!" snapped Fudge, who had now turned a lovely shade of purple that Harry had only seen on Uncle Vernon before.

"I believe that we have already disclosed the matter of the Muggle's identity, who was already aware of the Magical World," said Dumbledore calmly. Several members of the stand nodded their heads in agreement, much to Harry's relief.

"Yes, but he still used magic outside of school!" spluttered Fudge.

"Of course he did. However, Clause Seven of the Decree states that an underage witch or wizard can perform magic in the presence of Muggles should extenuating circumstances dictate so, as those situations could include situations in which the lives of one or many people be threatened, as Harry's story suggests," said Dumbledore.

"A story which is still suspect!"

"If you doubt the witnesses description of the events, perhaps I shall call her back in? I am sure she will not object."

"I-what-no!" said Fudge loudly. "I want this over with Dumbledore!"

"Of course," said Dumbledore, though there a hard edge to his words. "Now, I see no violation of any of the laws stated, so what is the matter? And why, if I may ask Cornelius, did you feel it prudent to hold a full criminal trial to deal with the small matter of underage magic!"

Even more people seated began to glare at Fudge whilst nodding their agreement to Dumbledore's words. Madam Bones was glaring particularly hard at Fudge, who had appeared to have calmed down, though he had an incensed look to his face.

"Now," said Dumbledore, clapping his hands together. "What is the jury's verdict?"

Harry looked down at his feet, his heart hammering in his chest as he fought for control over his temper while the Wizengamot communed in hushed whispers and wild gestures. Twice he looked up Fudge, who was alternating between glaring at Harry and Dumbledore, though Harry glared back every time.

Then the whispering stopped. Harry looked up from his feet and swallowed as everyone he was seated before was looking at him, some with sympathetic expression, others downright murderous.

"Those in favour of clearing the accused of all charges?" said Madam Bones. She, along with more than half of the Wizengamot raised their hands, and Harry's heart soared. He was free! He could go back to Hogwarts with his friends!

"Those in favour of conviction?" said Madam Bones, cutting Harry's thoughts. Thankfully, only a dozen or so, including Fudge and the toad-like woman on his right, raised their hands.

Fudge sighed, took two large breaths and leaned forward. In a voice distorted by barely concealed rage, he said, "Very well, very well... cleared of all charges."

Dumbledore waved his wand and Mrs Figg's chair disappeared but before Harry could turn around to thank him, Dumbledore had disappeared. Slightly annoyed, Harry stood up and walked at a brisk pace out the doors, where he found Mr Weasley waiting for him.

"How did it go?" he asked. Harry's grin was the only answer he need, and Mr Weasley patted Harry on the back. Together, the two made their way back up to the top of the Ministry and headed back to Grimmauld Place to give the good news. It seemed that Harry's summer was finally perking up.

 _A/N- A little closer to canon this chapter was, but next chapter, the return of someone you've all been waiting for!_


	6. Chapter 6- Parties and Farewells

_A/N- See end of chapter for notes._

 **Chapter 6- Parties and Farewells**

When Harry and Mr Weasley arrived back at Grimmauld Place, they were met with raucous noises of celebration. Hermione had slammed into Harry, embracing him in a tight hug and crying tears of joy. "Oh Harry, I _knew_ you would be fine!" she cried happily.

Behind Hermione's shorter, yet still bushy hair Harry could see the twins and Ginny dancing around the hallway singing "We got Potter! We got Potter!" which caused Harry to laugh at their antics. He pried Hermione off himself gently and shook Ron's hand, who had a silly grin on his face. Harry then hugged Sirius and shook Remus' hand, not quite feeling completely comfortable around his father's other best friend. Mrs Weasley came over as well and attempted to squeeze the life out of Harry, much to his and the other's amusement.

"Congratulations dear, we knew you could do it," said Mrs Weasley proudly.

"Thanks Mrs Weasley, that means a lot to me," said Harry truthfully. "But how did you know about the verdict?" Indeed, it was something that had been plaguing Harry ever since he arrived back in Grimmauld Place.

"Oh, Dumbledore came around briefly to give us the good news!" said Mrs Weasley. Harry's mood instantly darkened at the mention of his Headmaster. Everyone else noticed it too as his emotions blanketed them, affecting the joyous atmosphere.

Sirius cleared his throat. "Right um," he said, trying to break the tension. "Molly's prepared a nice lunch for us, and tonight we're throwing a party!" Everyone burst into cheers at Sirius' proclamation and Harry's mood quickly brightened again. Sirius clapped his arm around Harry's shoulders and led him down to the kitchen, where a delightfully smelling lunch had been laid out across the table. Sirius pushed Harry down into the chair at the head of the table and everyone gathered around offering their congratulations. A bleary-eyed Tonks came into the kitchen, still in her pink silky pajamas that didn't leave much to the imagination and tripped over a chair, falling into a shocked Remus' lap. Sirius burst into laughter as Tonks attempted to scramble off of Remus, and Harry noticed some of the single males, himself included, staring at Tonks. Hermione was glaring at a slack-jawed Ron and Ginny smacked Fred and George in the back of their heads, eliciting shouts of protests from the twins.

Harry chuckled at the events going on and helped himself to several chicken sandwiches, stuffing them in his mouth like a starved man at a banquet. Light conversation started around the table as lunch began, and Harry was busy listening to Fred and George secretly talking about their plans for a joke shop they were planning on opening up at the end of their seventh year using the prize money Harry had won at the end of June. Ron was busy apologizing to Hermione, who had her arms crossed in front of her chest, for something he didn't even knew he did.

After lunch Mrs Weasley sent everyone off to finish their chores while she started working on the food for the party that night. She excused Harry, thinking that he would be too tired from the hearing, and he wasn't one to correct her. So, while everyone was running about the house cleaning, Harry locked himself in one of the Black Family libraries with nothing but a very sharp knife he had snuck from the kitchen. He was curious as to how fast he could heal, and so he decided during lunch to figure out how just how fast his healing factor was. He knew that Doxy venom didn't do much to him, despite it being supposed to cause extreme rashes, swelling and itching, but it only caused him slight discomfort for a few minutes before the pain died down. He wasn't awake when the glass shards from the smashed mirror healed, so he had no idea how fast they healed. So, sitting comfortably in one of the armchairs, Harry slid the tip of the blade down his forearm, wincing slightly as he drew blood and sliced a smooth cut through his skin.

He watched the cut intently, waiting for a sign. He didn't have to wait long before the blood stopped flowing from the wound, and a few minutes later he felt a strange tingling sensation. Harry started when he saw the cut begin to heal from the start down to the bottom of the cut. A few minutes later and the only sign that Harry had even marred himself was a faint, pink line stretching down his arm. Harry smirked, thinking that Madam Pomfrey would have an easier time with him this year.

Harry snuck out of the library, making sure to steer clear of anyone and snuck to the bathroom to wash the dried blood from his arm. He didn't want anyone questioning him just yet, it was something he wanted to keep to himself. After washing all the blood off his arm, he left the bathroom and went to his bedroom, closing the door behind him and taking off his shirt and throwing it in the pile of dirty washing. He took a quick look at himself in the mirror, admiring the lean, defined muscles he had developed over the summer. What could he say? Sometimes a man just had to take the time to admire his figure. With that, Harry jumped onto his bed and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

oOoOoOo

"Well, I must admit, that's quite the sight."

Harry lifted his head up from the pillow, squinting to see who the voice belonged to. He fumbled for his glasses on the nightstand and put them on, and the blurry figures focussed into Hermione and Ginny, who were watching him with amused expressions on their faces. The impact of what Hermione had said caught up with Harry and he looked down at his bare torso, then back up at Hermione and Ginny, who were busy staring at the toned pectorals and abdominals of Harry with a hungry look in their eyes. Harry shrieked and pulled up his blanket to cover himself, blushing bright red. Hermione merely laughed lightly while Ginny looked slightly disappointed.

"Shame, I was enjoying the view," grumbled Ginny, though she had a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Get OUT!" yelled Harry.

"Why? We were having so much fun watching you sleep," said Hermione.

"You don't even think of me that way!" protested Harry.

"Hm true," said Hermione in mock disappointment. "It does feel a bit weird to be staring at someone who's practically my brother. Although I'm sure Ginny has no such issues."

"Hermione!" said Ginny embarrassedly, herself blushing now.

"Alright, you've had your fun. Now what do you want?" sneered Harry.

"Oh, right. Mrs Weasley wants you to come down now. People are going to be turning up soon," said Hermione.

"What time is it?"

"Nearly six o'clock."

" _Six o'clock!"_ shouted Harry, scrambling out of his bed and temporarily forgetting his embarrassment as he turned his back on the two girls and started digging through his trunk for some fresh clothes.

"Mmm, he has nice shoulders too."

"HERMIONE!"

"Fine! Fine, we're going!" said Hermione, pulling Ginny along outside and closing the door.

 _Maybe having muscles isn't such a good thing,_ thought Harry. He pulled on one of his less baggy and tidier polo shirts over his head and attempted to tidy his hair, but as usual it was a battle fought in vain. Smoothing out some creases in his shirt, Harry walked out of the bedroom and down into the kitchen, where his hearing picked up the most amount of noise emanating from. He opened the door and saw several people already in there. The Weasleys, Remus, Sirius, Tonks, Kingsley, Mundungus Fletcher, Moody, Hermione, Dedalus Diggle and Emmeline Vance were all gathered around the table eating and chatting away happily one to another and helping themselves to some of the food. Ron had by far the largest plate of food gathered, and was eating away like it was his last meal.

Harry walked over and gave Mrs Weasley a hug and a kiss on the cheek, thanking her sincerely for putting everything together. She smiled and brushed it off, saying it was nothing. Harry walked over to Sirius, who handed him a glass bottle of Butterbeer and the two began chatting to Remus.

"So, the most important question," began Sirius. "What did Fudge's face look like when you won?"

"Well," said Harry. "He sort of looked like Uncle Vernon just before he loses his temper."

Sirius and Remus glanced at each other and started laughing loudly.

"Oh, I know what that looks like," said Remus. "Do you remember James and Lily's wedding when we snuck Vernon that treat?"

"And his face started turning purple?" laughed Sirius. "Oh, I can imagine Fudge's face perfectly now!" The three began to laugh again, just as Mrs Weasley came back into the kitchen carrying a large dish of treacle tart. Harry's sensitive nose was assaulted by the delicious smell and immediately made his way over to the dessert, grabbing a plate and helping himself to a piece large enough for Ron to go green with envy. His ravenous diet was noted by Mrs Weasley, who smiled delightfully. Everybody came over to Harry to offer their congratulations, even Mad-Eye Moody, though Harry was having difficulty replying, as his mouth was conveniently full of food whenever somebody approached him.

About halfway through Harry's third helping of treacle tart ("I should have made another!" cried Mrs Weasley"), the kitchen door opened and in walked Mr Bell, followed by a woman close to his age with shoulder-length light brown hair and tanned skin.

"Hello everyone!" said Mr Bell. Everyone waved out to him and the woman. "This here is my wife Andrea," she waved at the gathered crowd as they welcomed her warmly, "And- Katie! Come over now!"

"That house elf just tried to stab me with a poker!" screeched a familiar voice from upstairs. Harry and Sirius groaned as they got out of their seats and left the kitchen, heading upstairs into the entrance hallway. There they saw a very attractive brunette backed against the wall while Kreacher slowly approached her, brandishing a poker wildly.

"No more half-breeds and Mudbloods in my Mistress' home!" screamed the insane house elf. "They is filthy! Despoiling the purest name of black!"

"KREACHER!" bellowed Sirius as he drew his wand. He summoned the poker from Kreacher's hands, which flew straight at Harry's head, but he caught it easily thanks to his Seeker reflexes. Harry and Sirius then stalked over to a still-raving Kreacher and pulled him away from the scared but slightly amused looking girl. Kreacher kicked his legs in the air and smacked Harry in the face, cracking his glasses and making his nose bleed. Harry automatically let go of Kreacher and clutched his bleeding nose and tried to blink the tears away. Sirius, on the other hand, was struggling even more with the elf, who was shrieking like a being possessed. Of course, this only set off Mrs Black's portrait, who was egging Kreacher on. Harry, eyes still watery, forced the curtains of Mrs Black's portrait closed, silencing the evil witch's howls.

"KREACHER, I ORDER YOU TO SHUT THE HELL UP AND STOP TRYING TO KILL MY GUESTS!" bellowed Sirius. The house elf stopped his tirade, falling limp in Sirius' arms. He dropped Kreacher on the ground and gave him a hard kick, sending Kreacher sprawling on the ground. Glaring at his master, Kreacher snapped his fingers and vanished, no doubt slinking back to the filthy cupboard he dwelled in. Sighing, Harry turned around to the stunned Katie Bell and grinned, though the effect wasn't as good seeing as his face was covered in blood and his glasses cracked.

"Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters," he said somewhat sheepishly. "I see you've met my godfather's lovely house elf Kreacher."

Katie only nodded her head until Sirius approached and her coffee brown eyes widened.

"He's not a criminal, despite what the papers say," said Harry.

"I-I know," stammered Katie. "It's just a little weird seeing him in person." Sirius let out bark of laughter.

"Believe it or not, that's not the weirdest thing anyone has said about me," said Sirius. "Harry tried to kill me when we first met," he joked. He stuck out his hand to Katie. "Sirius Black."

"K-Katie Bell," said Katie, taking Sirius' offered hand and shook it. Sirius turned back to Harry and laughed.

"We better clean you up before Molly sees and blames me for being 'an irresponsible godfather'," he said. He pulled out his wand and murmured " _scourgify, reparo,"_ cleaning the blood off Harry's face and fixing the crack in his glass lenses. Sirius grinned at Harry and Katie before inviting the girl downstairs into the kitchen. Harry smiled awkwardly at Katie and the two followed Sirius downstairs.

Besides the Weasley twins, Katie was the closest person to Harry on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She was a sweet girl, very friendly to all and to Harry, would never hurt a fly. She had long brown hair that she usually either put up in a ponytail or a long braid, with tanned skin from being outside for hours on end playing Quidditch. She was also an extremely attractive young woman, Harry had to admit. Being a year older than Harry and having made it onto the team the same year, Harry found Katie to be a kindred spirit, although truthfully Harry didn't talk to her much outside of the Quidditch pitch, though the two would occasionally say hello in passing through the Hogwarts corridors. Perhaps he should rectify that.

"So what are you doing here?" asked Harry. "Not that I don't mind you being here," he added quickly after seeing Katie's look.

"Oh, Mum recently joined the Order of the Phoenix this morning and Dad told me about your hearing, so we thought we'd come offer our congratulations," said Katie.

"So Dumbledore gave you and your mum Headquarters location," surmised Harry.

Katie shrugged. "Pretty much," she said.

"Sorry about Kreacher. He's a bit of a Pureblood fanatic like the rest of Sirius' family was," said Harry.

"That's fine. I would have found it quite funny if he hadn't tried to impale me with a poker," said Katie with a laugh. Harry laughed along with her and opened the door for her into the kitchen.

"Katie!" said the twins happily as they stood up from their seats and pulled her into a three-way hug, crushing the smaller girl between them. Harry looked over to Sirius and Remus, who were both smirking at Harry's chivalry towards Katie and probably coming up with some prank or teasing to pull on Harry. He merely rolled his eyes and helped himself to some more Butterbeer and went to sit by Ron and Hermione, who were once again arguing over the merits of S.P.E.W. Harry stopped the argument from escalating further when he offered Ron a bottle of Butterbeer and began questioning Hermione on her upcoming subjects.

Halfway through the party seven owls flew into the kitchen carrying letters emblazoned with the Hogwarts seal. The owls were for the seven Hogwarts students currently in Grimmauld Place. Harry grabbed his letter from a scary-looking screech owl that tried to snap at his fingers before taking off once Harry had removed the letter. He opened the letter, which contained the usual school supplies list for the upcoming year, along with a letter regarding his fifth year being O.W.L. year.

Across from Harry Hermione shrieked and held up a shiny Prefect's badge. Ron looked similarly stunned when he too pulled a Prefect's badge from his envelope. Mrs Weasley grabbed Ron and Hermione and pulled them into a crushing hug. Harry's heart dropped at the sight of Ron holding the badge. He was sure that Dumbledore would have nominated him for the fifth-year Gryffindor prefect, but Dumbledore probably assumed that he couldn't handle the responsibility, seeing as he thought it prudent to not tell Harry something as simple as the Order of the Phoenix.

"Harry, I thought for sure that you would get prefect!" said Ron happily, pulling Harry from his thoughts.

"Nah, you deserve it Ron," said Harry, smiling, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Oh, this is definitely cause for celebration!" exclaimed Mrs Weasley. "I'll have to go get your school supplies sometime this week for you dears." She bustled into the kitchen and began whipping up some more food, assisted by Mrs Bell

The night continued on with everybody in a happy mood, except for Harry. He knew he was acting a bit irrational and spoilt but he couldn't help it. Sirius tried to come over and talk to him but Harry waved his godfather off, preferring to be alone. The night continued to wear on until late, and the guests started to leave. Kingsley, Mad-Eye, Dedalus Diggle and Emmeline Vance were the first to leave, followed by a drunk Mundungus, who had somehow managed to slip a bottle of Firewhiskey past Mrs Weasley. Harry too left the kitchen and headed to one of the libraries to be alone.

About half an hour later the door to the library opened and Harry turned in his chair to see Katie standing at the doorway, smiling brightly.

"You heading off?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, but I thought I'd come and find you to say goodbye," said Katie. She noticed Harry's sombre mood and stopped smiling. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," said Harry, "I'm just being a little silly that's all."

"You're upset that Ron got the prefect job and you didn't."

Harry started. "No that's not-"

"It's fine," said Katie. "I'm as surprised as you are. In fact, I think everyone was a little surprised that you didn't get prefect."

"Is it stupid that I'm a little jealous of Ron?" said Harry.

Katie shook her head. "No, if I were Dumbledore or McGonagall, I would have made you prefect as well," she said. Harry's mood lightened slightly.

"Thanks Katie," said Harry. Katie smiled again, and this time Harry smiled back.

"Anytime Harry. I'll see you back at school yeah?" she said.

"Sure. See you later," replied Harry.

"Bye." And with that, Katie left the library and closed the door, leaving a slightly better Harry behind.

oOoOoOo

Just like every other year, the morning that the Hogwarts Express left for Hogwarts was extremely chaotic when it came to the Weasley and anyone who was staying with them. It seemed that this routine didn't stay behind at the Burrow, as Moody was shouting for everyone to hurry up or they'd be late to the train station. Harry had packed the night before, so all he had to do was change into a fresh set of clothes, have breakfast and brush his teeth. He and Sirius watched from the kitchen bench drinking coffee with amused expressions on their faces as everyone bustled in and out of the kitchen collected belonging that they kept almost leaving behind.

"WHERE'S MY HAIR BRUSH?!" screamed Ginny as she came into the kitchen. Harry held up the brush with a smirk and Ginny snatched it away with a scowl.

"HURRY UP!" shouted Mad-Eye from the entry hall. Sighing Harry stood up from his stool and gave Sirius a hug, telling him to stay out of trouble.

"I would say the same to you," began Sirius, "but let's face it. You're the son of a Marauder." Harry only laughed and bid Sirius farewell as he left the kitchen and climbed up the stair to fetch his trunk and Hedwig.

"How are you doing that?" said Ron with a hint of awe as Harry easily hefted the heavy trunk over his right shoulder.

"Super strength baby," said Harry with a wink to his best friend.

"Whatever," was all Ron said. The two went downstairs with their luggage and met up with Moody, who was wearing a bowler hat to cover his magical eye, along with Remus and Tonks.

"You all ready?" said Moody impatiently once everyone had filed into the entry hall. "Good. Now, we'll all go three at a time. Potter, Ronald, you're Apparating with me. Girls, with Tonks. Twins-"

"We can Apparate ourselves," said George.

"Fine," grumbled Moody. "Are you ready?" everyone nodded their heads again.

An extremely unpleasant feeling of being forced through a thin tube and a quick goodbye later, Harry and the Weasleys boarded the Hogwarts Express. They picked out an empty compartment and put their trunks in the overhead baggage and Harry sat down.

"Um Harry, Ron and I have to go to the prefect's meeting," said Hermione cautiously. Harry's face darkened and he merely grunted, as though they needed his permission to go. Exchanging quick looks, Ron and Hermione left Harry in the compartment by himself. Luckily, He wasn't alone for long when Ginny came into the compartment, along with a petite girl with dirty blonde hair and a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Hey Harry," said Ginny, sitting down next to Neville.

"Hey," said Harry, looking inquisitively at the other girl. She was reading a wizard magazine upside down with a pair of sparkly goggles.

"Oh, this is Luna, Luna Lovegood," explained Ginny. Harry nodded his head to the girl in greeting, and she stared at Harry, long enough to make him feel uncomfortable.

"I know who you are," said Luna in a dreamy voice. "You're the one who said that You-Know-Who had returned."

"Er... yeah," said Harry uncomfortably.

"Don't worry, Daddy and I believe you," she said before turning her attention back to the magazine. Harry looked at Ginny questioningly but Ginny just shook her head, and the compartment lapsed into silence.

Not too long after, somebody knocked on their compartment door. Looking up, Harry saw a nervous-looking Neville Longbottom clutching a strange plant that resembled a cactus.

"H-hi Harry," said Neville. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all," said Harry. Neville slid into the compartment and closed the door, sitting across from Harry.

"I just want to say Harry that Grandmother and I believe what you and Dumbledore have been saying about You-Know-Who's return," said Neville. Harry looked up in surprise at the chubby teenager. "We don't think that you're a nutter," he added.

"Thanks Neville, that means a lot," said Harry sincerely. It seemed like Harry wouldn't be completely alone this year. Another knock on the door and Katie's head popped in.

"Hi Harry! Hi Ginny! How are you?" she said.

Harry shrugged. "Pretty good," he said. Katie smiled and came into the compartment and sat next to Neville. "What are you doing here? Where's Angelina and Alicia?" asked Harry.

"Oh er... they're a little busy hexing Fred and George at the moment," said Katie. "They offered the girls some of their prank treats and I decided to get out before a stray curse hit me."

Harry smiled.

"How was your summer Neville?" asked Katie. Neville blushed slightly at having gained the attention of the pretty brunette.

"Er... Well-uh-I er..." stammered Neville. Katie only looked at him sweetly before turning her attention back to Harry.

"Ron and Hermione at the prefect's meeting?" she asked. Harry nodded.

"Shame," she said. She quickly brightened up. "Oh, did you hear? Angelina's Quidditch captain this year!"

"Whoa really? That's great!" said Harry excitedly.

"I know! But I think she's not gonna go any easier on us than Oliver. Angie's just as crazy about Quidditch as he was!"

The two Quidditch players then started a heavy discussion about Quidditch, with Neville occasionally offering his input now and again. Yet again the cpmpartment door opened again about halfway through the trip and Ron and Hermione walked in.

"Bloody hell I thought that was never going to end!" said Ron as he plopped down in the seat next to Harry.

"It wasn't that bad. It was mostly just going over the patrols shifts for the term," said Hermione. "And language Ronald," she added.

"Whatever," said Ron, then he sat up straight. "Guess who the Slytherin prefects are? Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson!"

"Malfoy?" said Harry.

"Yep! And now he's acting even more like a ponce than usual!"

Just then the door was pushed right open and Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle stood there with triumphant smirks on their faces.

"You really should watch your language Weasel," said Malfoy. "I think that will be ten points from Gryffindor." Ron's face turned red with anger and he reached for his wand before Hermione stopped him. "That'd be another 15 points," Malfoy added.

"Get out," snarled Harry. Malfoy merely smirked, but the was a slight flash of wariness in his eyes.

"Now, now, Potter. You must control that temper of yours. We wouldn't want any trouble now, would we?" said Malfoy triumphantly. Harry's eyes flashed dangerously and made a feral snarl rip out of his mouth, making Malfoy and his cronies step back and retreat out of the compartment. Harry forced himself to calm down and eased the tension from his muscles. Everybody else in the compartment sat staring at Harry dumbfounded.

"What?" said Harry impatiently. Nobody answered him and instead turned their attentions to other things. Luna, on the other hand, continued staring at Harry.

"You must have a really bad case of Nargle infestation in your brain," said Luna seriously. The statement was so out of place that Harry couldn't help but grin, then laugh quietly, before Ron pulled out a deck of cards for Exploding Snap, which everyone except for Hermione joined in on.

Just as it was starting to get dark outside, Katie stood up. "Well, it was fun being with you guys," she said, "but Angie and Alicia are probably looking for me. Bye guys."

Everyone muttered goodbye as she left the compartment and Hermione looked up from her book.

"We should probably put our robes on," she declared. Everyone agreed and just as Harry was putting his robes on, he couldn't help but feel that this year was going to be very interesting.

 _A/N- Further divergences from canon! Hope you enjoyed this chapter._

 _In regards to my reviews one of you made some very excellent points. In regards to Arabella's supposed neglect of helping Harry against the abuse he received from the Dursleys I say that she did try to help him by warning Dumbledore, but Dumbledore ignored her thinking she may have been exaggerating, and thus Mrs Figg is unable to do anything outside of being friendly to Harry. Some of the questions asked are told in the canon OOTP story so read that._

 _Where's the lion-man? Well, you're going to have to find out. Besides, did it actually kill anyone? I never said it did so it would explain why Fudge doesn't know about any Heads of Pureblood houses being mysteriously injured or missing. Now, enough questions, for all will be revealed!_


	7. Chapter 7- United We Fall

**Chapter 7- United We Fall**

Harry, along with Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and Luna, stepped off the train into Hogsmeade station. He did a quick survey of the area. Students were filing off the train and heading to where the horseless carriages were usually waiting. He saw Katie, the Weasley twins, Lee Jordan, Angelina and Alicia heading towards one carriage, the older girls giving Fred and George dirty looks every so often. Something didn't feel right.

"Wait, where's Hagrid?" said Ron. Harry quickly swung his head back and forth, searching for his first ever friend. There was no sign of the jolly half-giant.

"You don't think he doing business for Dumbledore?" asked Ron. Harry shrugged.

"Probably," he said, then led the group towards the carriages that always took the above first year grades up to the castle. He gave one a quick glance, then turned back to make sure Ron, Hermione and Neville were following him but quickly did a double-take.

The coaches were no longer horseless. There were black creatures that stood between the carriage shafts that looked like horses from a distance, but up close they looked like the stuff of nightmares. They had no fur nor flesh, and their black skin clung to their skeletons, making every bone sickeningly visible. Their heads resembled dragons and their pale white, pupil-less eyes were cold and sunken inside their wide sockets. Their large, bat-like wings that sprouted from their withers were folded to their sides like a great dark cloak.

"What the hell are those?!" said Harry, his eyes widening as he pointed at the horse-like creatures.

"What?" said Ron, looking confused.

"Those things pulling the carriages!"

"Nothing's pulling the carriages," said Hermione.

"You don't see those things pulling them?" said Harry incredulously.

"No, because nothing is there as usual," said Hermione, scowling when a burly looking fourth year shoved past her. They quickly hopped into the nearest carriage, which already had Ginny and Luna.

"So you're telling me that you can't see that big scary-looking horse standing between the harnesses three feet in front of you?" said Harry.

"What scary-looking horse?" said Ron, perplexed. Harry was beginning to get impatient, but before he could get himself worked up, Luna stopped him.

"I can see them as well," she said offhandedly.

"You can?" asked Harry.

"Of course, only people who have seen death can see them," she said, staring at Harry. The realization of what Luna said made Harry feel like he had been punched in the gut and he leaned forward, his mood darkening.

"Cedric..." he murmured, closing his eyes to stop the memories from coming back. Hermione picked up on his mood and rubbed his back gently.

"It's alright," she whispered reassuringly. "Tomorrow, we can go to the library and find out what you're seeing." Harry only nodded his head.

"It's okay that you can see them, you're just as sane as I am," said Luna in an attempt to make Harry happy. Somehow, Harry wasn't altogether reassured by that.

"Did anyone see that Grumbly-Plank woman taking the first-years?" said Ginny in an attempt to change the subject. "What's she doing here? Hagrid can't have left could he?"

"I hope so," said Luna, "He isn't a very good teacher was he?"

"Yes he is!" Harry, Ron and Ginny immediately defended. Harry noticed that Hermione hadn't said anything and angrily glared at her.

"Oh... um, yes... very good teacher," she mumbled.

"Well, we in Ravenclaw think he's a bit of a joke," said Luna, unfazed by the Gryffindors' angry outbursts.

"You have a rubbish sense of humour then," Ron snapped, as the wheels of the carriage beneath them creaked into motion. Luna didn't seemed perturbed by Ron's insult. Instead, she just looked at him as if he was an interesting animal in a zoo exhibit.

Rattling and swaying, the convoy of carriages moved up the road. When Harry saw the winged boars that topped the stone pillars on either side of the Hogwarts gates, he leaned closer to the window to get a look to see if there was any light coming from Hagrid's hut, but all he saw was blackness in the night. However, he did see the tall black pillars of the Hogwarts towers looming over them and casting dark shadows in the pale moonlight. Small flickering lights blazed from some of the windows in the castle, contrasting the cold darkness with its warm, inviting light.

The carriages jiggled to a halt just outside the stone steps leading up to the massive oak doors into the castle. Harry climbed out and fervently hoped that the skeletal horses weren't there, but his wishes were in vain. They were still there, their white eyes gleaming in the darkness..

"You coming mate?" said Ron beside him.

"What? Oh... yeah," said Harry quickly as he and his friends joined the crowd up the stone steps into the castle. The Entrance Hall was ablaze with light and echoing with footsteps and excited chatter among the students as the crossed the stone floor to the double doors to the right that led into the Great Hall.

The four long tables were starting to fill up as Harry and his group walked into the Great Hall for the start of term Feast. The place hadn't changed. The black, starless ceiling matched the night sky that could be seen through the windows. Candles floated in midair above the tables, illuminating the the silvery ghosts and floated about the hall and the faces of the students talking eagerly as they exchanged summer news and shouted across the tables to their friends from other houses. Again Harry saw students lean closer to their friends and whisper in hushed voices as Harry walked past them, making his temper flare up. He gritted his teeth and sat down, trying to ignore the pointed looks and whispers in his direction.

Luna skipped away from the group to join the Ravenclaw table, while Ginny left to sit further down the table after being hailed by some of her fourth-year friends, one of which was Colin Creevey. Ron and Hermione sat down on either side of Harry, while Neville sat across from them next to Parvati Patil and Dean Thomas, glaring at anyone they caught staring at Harry. Harry had more important things to worry about as his eyes scanned the teachers' table that ran along the front of the Hall.

"He's not here," said Harry morbidly. Ron and Hermione looked up and scanned the table as well, though Harry knew that they would come to the same conclusion, seeing as Hagrid's size made him easy to spot just about anywhere.

"Where do you think he is?" said Hermione quietly, so that Neville, Parvati and Dean wouldn't hear.

"He probably hasn't come back from his mission yet. You know, the one Dumbledore gave him at the end of last year," said Harry.

"Yeah, that'd be it," said Ron, sounding slightly reassured.

"Who's that?" said Hermione suddenly, nodding towards the staff table. Harry looked up and saw Dumbledore, who's head was inclined to the woman sitting next to him, who was whispering in his ear. She looked vaguely familiar, wearing a frilly pink cardigan and a horrible pink Alice band over the top of her head. She looked away from Dumbledore and took a sip from her goblet, and Harry realised he had seen that ugly, toad-like face before.

"It's that Umbridge woman!" exclaimed Harry.

"Who?" said Ron and Hermione at the same time.

"She was at my hearing. She was one of the people who tried to have me expelled from Hogwarts!" he said, perhaps a little too loudly as several people turned their heads to look at the trio. Harry, with his enhanced hearing, heard Seamus Finnegan mutter "that's a shame," as the Irish fifth-year took a sip from his goblet. Harry glared dangerously at Seamus, who flushed red at having been heard.

"What's she doing here anyway?" asked Ron. Hermione's eyes narrowed at Umbridge, then widened as a look of shock crossed her face.

"No... surely not..." she muttered.

She was stopped from elaborating when Professor Grumbly-Plank appeared from behind the staff table and made her way to the far end of the table and sat down where Hagrid should have been. That meant that the first-years had crossed the Black Lake and sure enough, a few moments later the doors of the Great Hall opened. A long line of nervous-looking first-years trailed behind Professor McGonagall, who was carrying a stool and an old, patched wizard's hat with a wide rip near the frayed brim.

Professor McGonagall placed the stool in front of the line of first-years in front of the staff table and put the hat on top of the stool.

"Bloody hell, they're small," muttered Ron.

"I know, I don't think we were that small," agreed Harry.

"Yes you were," whispered Angelina Johnson a few seats down the table. Harry flushed red from embarrassment as the Gryffindor Chasers giggled quietly, and he turned his attention back to the Sorting Hat. The whole school waited with bated breath. The the tear near the brim of the hat opened and the Sorting Hat began its song.

 _In times of old when I was new_

 _And Hogwarts barely started_

 _The founders of our noble school_

 _Thought never to be parted:_

 _United by a common goal,_

 _They had the selfsame yearning,_

 _To make the world's best magic school_

 _And pass along their learning._

 _'Together we will build and teach!'_

 _The four good friends decided_

 _And never did they dream that they_

 _Might some day be divided,_

 _For were there such friends anywhere_

 _As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_

 _Unless it was the second pair_

 _Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?_

 _So how could it have gone so wrong?_

 _How could such friendships fail?_

 _Why, I was there and so can tell_

 _The whole sad, sorry tale._

 _Said Slytherin, 'We'll teach just those_

 _Whose ancestry is purest.'_

 _Said Ravenclaw, 'We'll teach those whose_

 _Intelligence is surest. '_

 _Said Gryffindor, 'We'll teach all those_

 _With brave deeds to their name, '_

 _Said Hufflepuff, 'I'll teach the lot,_

 _And treat them just the same. '_

 _These differences caused little strife_

 _When first they came to light,_

 _For each of the four founders had_

 _A house in which they might_

 _Take only those they wanted, so,_

 _For instance, Slytherin_

 _Took only pure-blood wizards_

 _Of great cunning, just like him,_

 _And only those of sharpest mind_

 _Were taught by Ravenclaw_

 _While the bravest and the boldest_

 _Went to daring Gryffindor._

 _Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,_

 _And taught them all she knew,_

 _Thus the houses and their founders_

 _Retained friendships firm and true._

 _So Hogwarts worked in harmony_

 _For several happy years,_

 _But then discord crept among us_

 _Feeding on our faults and fears._

 _The houses that, like pillars four,_

 _Had once held up our school,_

 _Now turned upon each other and,_

 _Divided, sought to rule._

 _And for a while it seemed the school_

 _Must meet an early end,_

 _What with duelling and with fighting_

 _And the clash of friend on friend_

 _And at last there came the morning_

 _When old Slytherin departed_

 _And though the fighting then died out_

 _He left us quite downhearted._

 _And never since the founders four_

 _Were whittled down to three_

 _Have the houses been united_

 _As they once were meant to be._

 _And now the Sorting Hat is here_

 _And you all know the score:_

 _I sort you into houses_

 _Because that is what I'm for,_

 _But this year I'll go further,_

 _Listen closely to my song:_

 _Though condemned I am to split you_

 _Still I worry that it's wrong,_

 _Though I must fulfil my duty_

 _And must quarter every year_

 _Still I wonder whether Sorting_

 _May not bring the end I fear._

 _Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

 _The warning history shows,_

 _For our Hogwarts is in danger_

 _From external, deadly foes_

 _And we must unite inside her_

 _Or we'll crumble from within_

 _I have told you, I have warned you ..._

 _Let the Sorting now begin._

The Sorting Hat drifted off into silence, becoming still yet again. Harry, along with the rest of the school, broke into applause, though Harry noted that it was overlaid with many students exchanging remarks with their neighbours, and Harry, along with everyone else, knew exactly who they were talking about.

"Well, that was certainly interesting," commented Ron.

"Too right," said Harry.

"I wonder if the Hat has ever given warnings?" said Hermione.

"Indeed," said the ghost of Nearly-Headless Nick. "The last time was when-" he was silenced when Professor MCgonagall gave the four tables a scathing look and cleared her throat. With one last frowning look at the tables before her, Professor McGonagall pulled a long piece of parchment and called out the first name.

"Abercrombie, Euan." A terrified looking boy with blonde hair and outward-facing ears stepped forward and placed the Sorting Hat on his tiny head. The Hat considered for a moment before the rip near the brim opened up again and bellowed "GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry clapped along with the rest of his house as the scared boy ran over to the Gryffindor table after McGonagall pulled the hat from his head and sat down, looking as though he never wanted to be the centre of attention again. The sorting continued and the line of first-years thinned until finally, "Zeller, Rose" was sorted into Hufflepuff and McGonagall grabbed the stool and Sorting Hat and marched them away as Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet.

"Welcome, welcome all to another year at Hogwarts!" said Dumbledore, smiling at everyone. Harry noted that the old Headmaster avoided looking in Harry's direction. "There is a time for speeches, and this is not it. Tuck in!"

"Finally!" said Ron as the mouth-watering feast appeared before their eyes, courtesy of the Hogwarts House Elves. Harry's stomach grumbled in anticipation and he helped himself to a large serving of mashed potatoes, corn, peas, a few slices of buttered bread and a massive t-bone of steak before he tucked in to it ravenously.

"Blimey Harry, I've never seen you eat so much," commented Neville. Parvati and Lavender Brown looked sick as they watched Harry and Ron tear into their dinner, while Dean and Neville looked rather impressed. Hermione just rolled her eyes as she ate her much smaller serving. Both Harry and Ron belched loudly when they finished their third plate of food, attracting the attention of several students and even a few of the teachers at the staff table. Harry ducked his head when he saw Professor McGonagall glaring at him and Ron, all the while silently chuckling.

"What were you saying about the last time the Sorting Hat gave a song like that?" Hermione said to Nearly-Headless Nick, giving Harry and Ron a look of revulsion.

"Er... yes well, the last time the Sorting Hat said anything about uniting the Houses together and standing strong against our enemies was when You-Know-Who was last in power," said Nick.

"Wuh', tha' eggplain a lo'," said Ron through a mouthful of potatoes.

"Excuse me?" said Nick indignantly. Ron swallowed his mouthful.

"I said that that explains a lot," he repeated.

"Mhm," agreed Harry as dessert appeared. He helped himself to a large serving of treacle tart and ate in silence, listening to the conversations around him. Dean Thomas was talking animatedly to Seamus Finnegan about all the football games he had been to over the summer, Hermione was scolding Ron for his lack of table manners, Parvati and Lavender were gushing over some foreigner they had met while on holidays in France. Fred and George were animatedly describing some of their pranks and treats they were developing for their joke shop shop to Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. Katie, who was sitting next to Alicia, made eye contact with Harry and smiled warmly at him before turning back to her own conversation with the seventh years. Harry smiled back and looked up to see Dumbledore stand from his seat.

"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the start-of-term notices," said Dumbledore. "First-years ought to know that the Forest within the grounds is out of bounds, and some of our older students ought to know that by now as well." (Harry, Ron and Hermione snickered behind their hands).

"Mr Filch, our caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty-second time, that magic is not permitted to be used in the corridors between classes, nor a a number of other things, which you can find on Mr Filch's extended list now fastened to his office door.

"We have two changes of staffing this year. We would like to welcome back Professor Grumbly-Plank, who will be taking over Care of Magical Creatures this year. We are also delighted to introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Umbridge."

There was polite but unenthusiastic applause for the new teachers. Harry shared a panicked look with Ron and Hermione at Dumbledore's omission of when Hagrid was supposed to be coming back.

Dumbledore continued, "Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will be held-"

"Hem, hem."

Dumbledore broke off, looking inquiringly at Professor Umbridge. Umbridge stood up from her chair (not that it made much of a difference to her height) as Dumbledore sat down, giving a friendly, but clearly fake smile to the pink-clad witch. The other teacher's reactions to Professor Umbridge's interruption were far less subtle. Professor McGonagall was scowling at the woman, Professor Sprout's eyebrows had shut up all the way to her hairline, and even Professor Snape was gawking at Umbridge like she had lost her mind.

"Thank you Professor Dumbledore, for those kind words of welcome," said Professor Umbridge. Harry shuddered at Professor Umbridge's high-pitched, girlish voice. Harry found himself hating everything about that woman, from her girly, simpering voice to her terrible fashion sense to the fact that she was one of the people within the Ministry Harry knew was trying to discredit him.

"Well, I must say that it is wonderful to be back at Hogwarts again!" said Professor Umbridge, her voice becoming more high-pitched at the end to make it sound like a question. "And to see such happy faces smiling at me!"

Nobody was smiling at her from what Harry could see. As Umbridge droned on and on about what was basically a veiled promise of the Ministry preparing to interfere with the Hogwarts curriculum (and possibly to keep an eye on Harry and Dumbledore), Harry felt his attentiveness slipping and started looking around the hall.

A lot of people had stopped listening to Umbridge's speech as well and begun chatting among themselves. At the Ravenclaw table Cho Chang was chatting away with her friends like there wasn't even a speech going on, and Luna Lovegood had pulled out her copy of _The Quibbler._ Over at the Hufflepuff table Justin Finch-Fletchley was dozing off and his elbow slipped in the butter dish, reminding Harry of the awkward Ginny Weasley in his second year. Even Draco Malfoy and his gang were no longer paying attention, instead laughing quietly as Malfoy started picking on one of the Slytherin second-years. At the Gryffindor table, Ron had completely fallen asleep, and Hermione was struggling to keep her attention on Professor Umbridge. Fred and George were talking animatedly with Lee Jordan, and the Chasers were struggling to pay attention as well.

"...move forward then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfecting, and pruning wherever we find practices ought to be prohibited," finished Professor Umbridge, sitting down finally. Dumbledore stood up again and started clapping, and the rest of the staff table joined in too, though most only clapped once or twice before they stopped. There was scattered applause around the House tables as well, though by the time most of the students joined in Dumbledore had already stopped and was resuming his start-of-term speech.

"Thank you for those illuminating words," said Professor Dumbledore, bowing to Professor Umbridge. "Now, as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held..."

"Well that certainly was illuminating," said Hermione.

"You didn't actually enjoy that did you?" said Harry incredulously.

"Of course not!" snapped Hermione. "But it certainly explains a lot about what the Ministry's up to."

"You figured that out as well?"

"Of course, it's not like she hid it very well."

"Too right." Dumbledore finished his speech and ordered the students to their dormitories for the night. Harry stood up and waited for Hermione, who was busy trying to wake Ron up.

"Ron. Ron!" shouted Hermione, smacking him in the back of the head. Ron sat up straight, blinking furiously.

"Wazzamatter?" he said.

"We're leaving," said Hermione impatiently. Hermione then looked at Harry. "Sorry Harry, but Ron and I have to help the first-years."

"Right," said Harry, his face falling slightly. "I'll see you up there then." He turned around and left the Great Hall by himself while Ron and Hermione started calling for the Gryffindor first-years. He reached the portrait of the Fat Lady alone.

"Password?" asked the Fat Lady.

"Er..." was all Harry said. He was supposed to have asked Hermione for the password but he had forgotten.

"No password. No entry," said the Fat Lady loftily, folding her arms across her chest.

"Harry!" shouted a voice from behind him. Harry turned around and saw Neville, huffing slightly as he ran up the stairs and clutching his strange plant. "I know the password! It's Mimbulus mimbletonia!" he said excitedly.

"Correct," said The Fat Lady, swinging open to reveal the circular entrance into Gryffindor Tower. Harry and Neville stepped into the hole and climbed through into the warm, inviting common room. Gryffindor common room looked as comforting as ever, a large circular room with red and gold wallpaper,full of cozy armchair and couches, rickety old tables and a large roaring fire in the fireplace, which several students were nearby warming their hands up.

Harry saw Fred and George putting something up on the noticeboard and waved out to them before heading up to the fifth-year dormitory, but was stopped by Seamus Finnegan, who had a confronting look on his face. Harry's instincts quickly put him on the defensive, his muscles coiling slightly as he readied himself.

"Me mam didn't want me to come back to Hogwarts this year," said Seamus in his thick Irish accent.

"Oh, and why is that?" asked Harry in a forcibly polite voice.

"She thinks you and Dumbledore are spouting lies about You-Know-Who's return to get attention," said Seamus. Harry took a step back in shock. Was that what Seamus and his mother thought of him?

"What do you mean to get attention? Seamus you know I've always hated being in the spotlight!" said Harry, his voice rising. Around them, students were beginning to watch the confrontation and whispering excitedly to their friends.

"Well then why is _The Daily Prophet_ calling you out for it eh?" challenged Seamus.

"Are you daft? The _Prophet's_ been out for me for years and only now you're believing them?"

"Well, nobody saw You-Know-Who except for you apparently, so what else is anyone supposed to think?"

"Well, how about you believe that I'm telling the truth and not listen to everything your mother says!"

"Don't you dare have a go at my mother!" yelled Seamus.

"I'll have a go at anyone who calls me a liar," snapped Harry, his hands balling into fists at his side.

"Don't talk to me like that!"

"Or what? If you've got a problem with me, spit it out," challenged Harry, his voice getting dangerously low. The beast, as Harry had taken to calling his uncontrollable temper, was sniffing around, looking for a weakness in Harry's defenses so it could escape and take its anger out on the boy standing in front of Harry. "You want to move out of the dormitory, I don't have a problem with you going to McGonagall to move out... stop your mummy worrying-"

"Leave my mother out of this!"

"Then tell her to mind her own business!"

"At least I have a mum to butt into my business!" snapped Seamus. Harry's eyes widened and he took a step back like he had just been slapped. Around the two arguing boys, people winced at the reminder of the cause of Harry's fame. Harry himself was stunned. He thought Seamus was supposed to be his friend! They had shared the same room for the past four years! This was the weakness the beast was looking for, and it started clawing at the chink in Harry's armour.

Harry took a step forward towards the now terrified looking Seamus with murder in his eyes. His nails were digging into the flesh of his palms, drawing blood, which was seeping through his clenched fists. Seamus took a step back in fear but before Harry could reach the unlucky Irish boy somebody stepped into his path.

"Harry. It's alright," said a calm, soothing voice. "He didn't mean it."

"Yes he did," Harry snarled at the voice, his eyes still locked onto Seamus.

"It's alright Harry, it's okay," said the person in front of him. "You know the truth, that's all that matters." Harry felt a hand press on his chest lightly and he looked down to see Katie looking up at him with concern in her eyes, her hands pressed against his chest to slow him down from attempting to tear Seamus apart.

"Just breathe," said Katie gently. Harry closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing down, at the same time forcing the beast back down. He opened his eyes again and gave Katie a small, yet sad smile.

"Thank you," he said before stepping around Katie and walking up the stairs to his dormitory, not even sparing Seamus a glance.

Ron and Hermione walked into the suddenly quiet common room with the first-years, and everyone turned to look at them.

"What happened?" demanded Hermione, sensing the tension. Ginny approached Hermione.

"Seamus got into an argument with Harry in front of the whole House," explained Ginny. "Seamus doesn't believe that Tom's returned." Hermione's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"They WHAT?!" shouted Hermione. she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Ginny, you know what happens when Harry loses his temper now!"

"He almost lost control but Katie stepped in before Harry could do anything and helped calm him down!" Ginny said quickly. Hermione glanced at the sixth-year Chaser, who was now sitting with Angelina and Alicia, though she had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Ok," said Hermione, "where's Harry now?"

"He went up to his dormitory," said Ginny. Hermione nodded her head, thanked the younger girl and turned back to Ron.

"Go make sure Harry's okay," she said. Ron nodded and quickly ran up to the boys' dormitory, not needing to be told twice. There, Ron found Harry sitting on his bed, his back to the door.

"You alright mate?" asked Ron.

"I'm fine," Harry said curtly. Ron shuffled on his feet awkwardly for a few moments.

"Heard you and Seamus got into a row. He's just being a git you know-"

"I SAID I'M FINE RON!" yelled Harry, finally turning around to glare at Ron. Ron stepped back a little bit.

"Right then, I'll just leave you to your thoughts," mumbled Ron and he beat a hasty exit, closing the door behind him. Harry sighed and looked down at his hands worriedly. His nails had lengthened into wicked claws, blood dripping from them from when they had grown into the flesh of his palms. The wounds themselves were still bleeding freely and Harry looked at them quizzically.

 _What the hell is happening to me?_ thought Harry.


	8. Chapter 8- Defensive Actions

_A/N- Thank you so much for the reviews guys! Keep em coming!_

 **Chapter 8- Defensive Actions**

Harry woke up the next morning to find that Seamus had already left. Rolling his eyes, Harry hopped out of his bed and got dressed into his school robes. He checked the puncture wounds on his hands, and his eyes widened. They hadn't healed like any other of his previous injuries during the summer. Instead, they were caked in dried blood and only just starting to scab over. Luckily the long claws that were Harry's finger nails were no longer there, but too much flexing of his hands caused the wounds to open up again. Cursing under his breath, Harry collected his bag and marched out of the dormitory.

He found Ron and Hermione already waiting for him and instantly detected his foul mood.

"What's wrong?" asked Hermione.

"Just accidentally cut my hands this morning," lied Harry, showing her his palms.

"Oh honestly Harry you need to be more careful," scolded Hermione as she pulled her wand out. " _Episkey,_ " she muttered and the freshly opened cuts closed up, leaving faint, pink lines.

"Thanks," said Harry. He looked at Ron, who appeared to be impatiently waiting for his two friends. "Shall we head to breakfast?" suggested Harry. Ron and Hermione agreed and together the trio left the Gryffindor common room and down into the Great Hall. The three sat down together and helped themselves to some breakfast, chatting away happily as though the events of last night didn't happen, although Harry would spare a glare every now and again in Seamus' direction.

Harry was just helping himself to some toast when Angelina Johnson came over to the trio.

"Oh, hi Angelina," said Harry.

"Hi," she said briskly. "have a good summer?" Without waiting for a reply she continued on. "Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch captain."

"I know. Katie told me," said Harry, smiling slightly. Truth be told, Harry expected Angelina to be a little more lenient than Oliver Wood ever was at practices, so he was looking forward to it. Angelina looked slightly taken aback but shook her head.

"Yeah, well, we need a new Keeper, so we're holding tryouts on Friday. I want the whole team there so that we can see how the new player will fit in with the rest of us. You got that?" said Angelina.

"Sounds good," said Harry. Angelina smiled and walked away over to Alicia. Harry turned back to Ron and Hermione. "I'm looking forward to playing Quidditch again. I haven't played in over a year."

"I'd forgotten that Oliver had left," said Hermione.

"Still, it'd be good to have some new blood, wouldn't it?" said Ron.

"Sure," agreed Harry. Professor McGonagall came over to the Gryffindor table then, handing out the year's timetable. Looking down at their's, Harry and Ron groaned.

"Bloody hell. History of Magic, double Potions, Divination and double Defence Against the Dark Arts... this is gonna be the worst Monday ever!" groaned Ron. "Fred and George need to hurry up and finish those Skiving Snackboxes..."

"Oh honestly Ron!" scolded Hermione.

"What? Even you have to admit our schedule isn't that spectacular!" said Ron loudly. Hermione said nothing, so Ron snorted in satisfaction as he turned his attention back to his breakfast.

"But this is our O.W.L. year," Hermione finally said. "We have to study hard if we want to do well."

"Not now Hermione. I've got enough to deal with," said Harry, not looking up from his plate.

"But Harry-"

"Not. Now."

Hermione huffed indignantly before standing up and grabbing her bag. "Fine then, I'll see you two in History," she said and left the two boys alone.

"How'd you get her to shut up?" asked Ron seriously. Harry only shrugged and bit into his toast.

oOoOoOo

History of Magic, by common consent amongst every student in Hogwarts, was by far the most boring subject ever created by both Wizardkind and Muggles. Professor Binns, the subject's ghost teacher, had this nasally droning voice that could put a rampaging Hungarian Horntail to sleep within ten minutes. Most students' (with the exception of Hermione) brains would turn off five minutes into Professor Binns' lectures and either fall asleep or gaze off into the distance. Ron was often placed under the first category while Harry was the latter.

After History of Magic, Harry, Ron and Hermione were walking through the courtyard, wrapping themselves tightly in their robes as the chilly September air settled in when somebody shouted Harry's name. He turned around to find Cho Chang heading their way, smiling and waving at Harry.

"Er... hey Cho," said Harry. The pretty Asian girl smiled brilliantly at Harry as she came closer. Normally, if Cho was to smile at Harry that way, he would have blushed heavily and embarrass himself in some way or another because of his crush on her, but now, Harry felt nothing. She reminded Harry too much of her dead boyfriend, Cedric. Seeing her brought up painful memories into the forefront of Harry's mind and he had to shake his head to clear those thoughts.

"How are you?" asked Cho.

"Not too bad. How are-" started Harry.

"Is that a Tornadoes badge?" Ron demanded suddenly, pointing at the sky-blue badge emblazoned with a double gold 'T' pinned against Cho's robes.

"Yes it is," said Cho, frowning slightly at Ron.

"Have you always supported them, or just since they started winning the league?" asked Ron in what sounded like an accusatory tone.

"I've been a fan of their's since I was six," Cho replied coolly. "I'll see you around Harry," she said, waving at him before she turned back and left.

Hermione waited till Cho was halfway across the courtyard before she rounded on Ron and smacked him on the head. "What was that for?" she hissed.

"What? I was just asking her a question!" defended Ron.

"She was obviously trying to talk to Harry!"

"Thanks Ron," Harry cut in. Hermione and Ron turned to Harry with stunned expressions.

"I thought you liked her?" said Hermione.

Harry shook his head. "Not anymore. Every time I look at her I see.." Harry swallowed thickly. Hermione and Ron instantly knew what Harry was going to say and nodded sympathetically.

"Come on, we've got Snape now," Harry said finally.

oOoOoOo

Harry was seething by the time he was waiting outside of the Defence Against the Dark Art classroom. Snape had given him zero marks after he forgot to add in an ingredient to his potion, though it wasn't much worse than Ron's and Neville's. Lunch was a similar affair and Harry had snapped at Ron and Hermione when they began another of their legendary arguments and he had left them stunned and offended when he abandoned his lunch and headed over to the Divination classroom. Trelawney had spent the lesson predicting Harry's death (something that was becoming more likely with the return of Voldemort) and he had accidentally smashed the tea cup he was holding with his bare hands. He had ignored Ron the whole lesson after he made a comment about keeping his temper in check.

When Harry entered the Defence classroom, Professor Umbridge was already seated at her desk, wearing her horrendous fluffy pink cardigan and the black bow atop her head. Nobody was sure how to act around her as she was a as yet unknown entity, and nobody was sure about what sort of disciplinarian she was, though Harry had a sinking feeling about that.

"Good afternoon class!" she finally said when the whole class had settled down behind their desks.

A few people mumbled "good afternoon" in reply.

"Tut, tut," said Professor Umbridge. "That will simply not do now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply, 'Good afternoon Professor Umbridge.' Now, good afternoon class!"

"Good afternoon Professor Umbridge," everyone chanted.

"There now," said Professor Umbridge, "that wasn't so difficult was it? Wands away and quills out please!"

There were several pairs of eyes rolling as they pulled their quills out from their bags. Professor Umbridge was clearly one of _those_ teachers. Harry just hoped that the curse of the Defence Against the Dark Arts would kick in sooner than normal so he wouldn't have to put up with her.

"Now, your teaching in this subjected has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" said Professor Umbridge, extracting her own wand from her bag. "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being well below the standard we would expect to see in your O.W.L. year.

"You will be please to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully constructed, theory-centred, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following please."

Professor Umbridge tapped her wand against the blackboard and a number of goals for the class appeared. The class wrote them down in their notebooks, the sounds of quills scratching on parchment the only noise in the classroom for several minutes.

"Now, has everybody got a copy of ' _Defensive Magical Theory_ ' by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

There was a dull murmur of assent throughout the class.

"I think we will try that again," said Professor Umbridge disapprovingly. "Has everybody got a copy of ' _Defensive Magical Theory'_ by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"Yes Professor Umbridge," rang through the room.

"Much better!" said Professor Umbridge. "Now, please turn to page five and read, 'Chapter One: Basics for Beginners."

After a few minutes of reading Harry noticed Hermione put her hand up in the air.

"Yes Miss..." said Umbridge questioningly.

"Granger, Professor Umbridge. Hermione Granger," said Hermione.

"Well Miss Granger, did you want to ask something about the chapter?" asked Umbridge. Half of the class looked up at Hermione, probably finding it more entertaining to watch her than read the dull chapter.

"No Professor. I've got a query about your course aims," said Hermione.

"Well I think the course aims are quite clear if you read through them carefully," said Professor Umbridge in a sickly-sweet voice.

"Well I don't," Hermione said bluntly. "There's nothing in here on using defensive spells."

"Using defensive spells?" laughed Professor Umbridge. "Why, I don't see any reason for you to be using magic in my class Miss Granger."

"We're not using magic at all?" Harry exclaimed loudly.

"Students will raise their hands when asking a question Mister Potter," barked Professor Umbridge, her sweet facade cracking slightly. Harry scowled at the toad-like woman and bowed his head.

"Wizards and witches much cleverer than yourselves have devised a risk-free method of learning defensive magic, which we are confident will be more than enough for you to pass your O.W.L.s," said Professor Umbridge.

"What use is that?" Harry said loudly. "If we're going to be attacked it won't be in a risk-free-"

"Hand, Mister Potter!"

Harry threw his clenched fist up in the air angrily, but Umbridge ignored him. However, other students had risen their hands.

"Yes Mister..."

"Dean Thomas," the boy in question said. "Well, it's like Harry said, if we're going to be attacked it won't exactly be risk-free will it?"

"Are you expecting to be attacked in my class Mister Thomas?" asked Umbridge, smiling in a way that set the hairs on the back of Harry's head stand up.

"Well, no but-"

Professor Umbridge talked over him. "I do not wish to criticise the way things have been run in this school," she said, her unconvincing smile stretching her toad features. "You have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed- not to mention," she gave a very nasty laugh, "extremely dangerous half-breeds."

"If you mean Professor Lupin," piped up Dean hotly, "he was the best we ever-"

"Hand, Mr Thomas!" interrupted Professor Umbridge. "As I was saying, you have all been taught some very complex and dangerous magic. It is my understanding that my predecessor taught you some very Dark magic indeed!"

"Well, he turned out to be a Death Eater, didn't he?" said Harry angrily. "Mind you, we still learned loads."

"Mr Potter..." warned Professor Umbridge.

Parvati raised her hand and Professor Umbridge nodded to her.

"Are you saying that we're not even going to be practicing any magic until our O.W.L.'s?" she asked incredulously.

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to apply the theory into your practical work," Professor Umbridge said dismissively.

"Without practicing them beforehand?"

"I repeat, as long as you have studied the-"

"And what good is that going to do in the real world?" said Harry loudly, his fist in the air again. Professor Umbridge looked up and sneered at Harry.

"This is school Mr Potter, not the real world," she said softly.

"So we're not supposed to be prepared for what's waiting for us out there?"

"There is nothing out there, Mr Potter."

"Oh yeah?" Harry's temper was beginning to flare up rapidly, the beast pounding on its cage now. Every bad thing that had happened was just waiting to burst.

"Who do you imagine would want to attack children such as yourselves?" Professor Umbridge laughed.

"Oh... let me think..." said Harry in a mock thoughtful voice. "How about... Lord Voldemort?"

There were several shrieks in the classroom after Harry uttered Voldemort's name. Neville slipped from his chair and Ron gasped loudly. Umbridge's left eye twitched slightly and Harry smirked. The class had fallen deathly silent, the students' eyes darting from Professor Umbridge to Harry.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr Potter," said Umbridge.

"For what? You scared of a silly name?" challenged Harry.

"Another ten points." Umbridge leaned forwards towards the classroom, her stubby fingers splayed across her desk. "Let me make this quite simple for you. You have been told that a certain Dark Wizard has risen from the dead-"

"He wasn't dead in the first place, but yeah," Harry said angrily.

"Mr-Potter-you-have-already-lost-twenty-points-for-your-House-do-not-make-things-worse," Professor Umbridge said quickly without taking a breath. "As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark Wizard is at large once again. This is a lie."

"It's NOT a lie!" shouted Harry. "I saw him come back! I fought him!"

"Detention Mr Potter!" Umbridge said triumphantly, her eyes flashing. "My office, five o'clock. I repeat, this is a lie. The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in any danger from any Dark Wizard. If you are still worried, by all means come and see me after class and I will help in any way I can. Now, turn to Chapter One and continue reading." She looked down at her notes after that.

Harry however, wasn't done. He stood up, and everyone stared at him. Seamus looked half-scared, half curious.

"So you're saying that Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?" he snarled. There was a collective intake of breath in the class. Nobody, except for Ron and Hermione, had heard Harry talk about Cedric's death.

"Harry, no!" pleaded Hermione, tugging at his sleeve. Harry pulled his arm away from Hermione's grip and glared at Umbridge.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," Umbridge said coldly.

"It was murder! The Killing Curse!" shouted Harry, trembling violently. The beast was almost free. "No signs of a struggle or any bodily wounds, apart from the ones he sustained from the Third Task! The only sign was the look of horror on his face as the life left his body! Classic case of a Killing Curse! Voldemort killed him and you know it!" He turned towards his classmates now.

"If you don't believe me that Voldemort's returned, fine. But there are other dangers out there. Other Dark Wizards are out there, maniacs and dark creatures. I got attacked by two dementors this summer! What happens if you come across a serial rapist? How are you supposed to protect yourself if you were never taught!"

"ENOUGH!" shouted Umbridge. She scribbled a note and extended it towards Harry. "Come here, Mr Potter." There were no signs of forced politeness on Umbridge's face as she stared coldly at Harry. "Take this to Professor McGonagall dear."

Harry snatched the note from Umbridge's pudgy hands and walked away. Just as he passed his desk to collect his things he was stopped again by Umbridge's voice.

"If you spout off lies in my classroom again Mr Potter, it will be detention for a week."

Harry's trembled violently as the beast took control for a brief moment.

"ARGH!" he bellowed and slammed his fist into the desk, smashing right through the wood and split it in half, splintered wood falling to the ground as the two halves of the desk collapsed to the floor. Hermione shrieked as her books, ink bottle and quill fell to the ground, the ink bottle shattering. Ron just stared dumbfounded at the remains of the desk and at Harry's accidental display of his super strength. Nobody moved, too stunned to react to what had just happened. Even Umbridge was frozen, her eyes widening at the desk.

Harry's breathing had grown into a rough rumbling sound, like an large, wild and very angry animal that had been backed into a corner. Harry glared at everyone before he turned and bolted from the classroom. He had almost closed the door when he heard Ron murmur to Seamus, "That's what would have happened to you if Katie hadn't stopped him."

Harry slammed the door shut behind him, cracking the wood. He walked at a brisk pace, his rumbling breath echoing through the halls, the note scrunched tight in his hand. A small group of first-years sidestepped him as he walked through the group, their eyes wide with fear. He walked so fast that he smacked into Peeves, the school's wide-mouthed Poltergeist.

"Well if it isn't Wee Potty!" cackled Peeves.

"Get out of my way," snarled Harry.

"Ooo, a little touchy today are we? What is it today? Hearing voices? Seeing visions? Speaking in tongues?" mocked Peeves with a laugh.

Harry pulled the poltergeist from the air and leveled him eye to eye. "Listen hear you stupid ghost," growled Harry. "I don't have time to deal with your crap so unless you get out of my way that wide-mouthed smile of yours is going to permanently become a frown."

Peeves' eyes widened in fear and he nodded his large head vigorously before Harry let him go. The poltergeist flew away as fast as he could, shouting "HE'S GONE MAD!"

"Mr Potter?" asked a voice behind Harry. He turned around and saw Professor McGonagall looking at him sternly. "What are you doing out of class?"

"I was sent here," said Harry stiffly, handing her the note. Professor McGonagall took the note from Harry and read it quickly.

She glanced up at Harry and opened her office door. "Inside please," she said.

Harry followed his Head of House into her office and sat down at the desk.

"Is it true that you called Professor Umbridge a liar?" she asked.

"Yes," said Harry.

"And that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned?"

"Yes."

Professor McGonagall sat down behind her desk and watched Harry closely. "Have a biscuit, Mr Potter," she said briskly.

"I-what?"

"Have a biscuit," she repeated, pointing to the tartan tin on her desk. Harry helped himself to a Ginger Newt and took a bite, no longer feeling angry, but rather very confused.

"Potter, you need to be careful," warned McGonagall.

"What?" said Harry. McGonagall's tone was not stern and brisk like what he was used to. Rather, her voice was low and very anxious.

"Dolores Umbridge is not someone who's bad side you want to get on," she said.

"What do you-?"

"Use your common sense!" said McGonagall, getting impatient now. "Who do you think she answers to?"

Harry stopped his immediate reply. _Damn,_ he thought. She worked directly for Fudge, so she had the power to make Harry and his friends' lives hell if she wanted to. Harry slowly nodded his head in understanding.

"Very well," said McGonagall, leaning back against her chair. "You will serve Professor Umbridge's detentions for the next week."

"Week?!" exclaimed Harry. "She said she only gave me one!"

"Well it says here that you will serve a detention every day at five o'clock until Friday," McGonagall said sharply.

"But I have Quidditch tryouts!" protested Harry.

"You should have thought of that before you lost you temper," said McGonagall, leaving no room for argument.

"Can't you-"

"No. Have another biscuit."

"I don't-"

"Don't be stupid! Have another biscuit!" snapped McGonagall.

Harry promptly grabbed another biscuit.

"Good day."

oOoOoOo

"She WHAT?!" shouted Angelina. They were in the common room, and Harry had just finished explaining to Angelina that he wouldn't be able to make it to Quidditch tryouts.

"Sorry," Harry said briskly.

"Can't you see if you can have it on Sunday instead?" she asked.

"I already talked to McGonagall, she said no," said Harry.

"Dammit Potter! I need your input!" exclaimed Angelina.

"Sorry," repeated Harry. "Maybe you could reschedule it for Saturday maybe?"

Angelina looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll see what I can do. but you need to keep your temper in check Harry. Not everyone believes that You-Know-Who's back, and Umbridge is one of the worst," she said, warning Harry.

Harry only nodded his head, and Angelina left him by himself. Ron and Hermione came over by the fireplace to sit by Harry near the fireplace, giving him concerned looks.

"Are you alright?" Hermione finally asked.

"I'm fine," said Harry.

"Harry, you can't shut us out," she pleaded.

"Yeah, we're your best friends," added Ron.

"I said I'm fine," repeated Harry. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Please Harry... we just want what's best for-"

"Best for who, Hermione?" said Harry loudly. "For me? Cause it bloody well doesn't feel like it! You didn't even back me up against Umbridge! You just sat there like a good little prefect!" Harry stood up and grabbed his things. "I have homework to do and a detention to go to," he said and left, heading towards the library and leaving a stunned Ron and Hermione behind.

He marched into the library, not even sparing Madam Pince a glance as he sat down in a corner and opened his school books. He had been in there for about twenty minutes when his enhanced hearing picked up whispering.

"Did you see him? He looked so mad!"

"I know! Did you hear about what he did in Professor Umbridge's class?"

"Yes! Apparently he was going on about You-Know-Who coming back. Can you believe that rubbish?"

"I heard he also broke a desk with one punch."

"Bollocks! Nobody's that strong!"

"I don't know. I've seen Muggles do that sort of thing on television."

Harry's temper was flaring up again. Did they not know he could hear them? Probably not, now that Harry thought about it. He wasn't supposed to hear that far anyway. The whisperings continued, each accusation stabbing Harry like a poisoned needle that ate away at his control. Having enough, Harry stood up and walked through the library, determined to find the rumour-mongers and put them in their places. He spotted the group of Ravenclaw third-years huddled around a table, whispering quietly. But before Harry could march over and give them a piece of his mind, somebody came between him and the Ravenclaws.

"I you've got a problem with Harry, go talk to him yourself," challenged the newcomer. It was Katie Bell.

One of the Ravenclaws snorted. "What are you, his girlfriend?" the blonde girl challenged.

"No, but I sure as hell know him a lot better than you do," Katie said calmly. She leaned forward so that her hands were resting on the table, providing Harry with an admittedly nice view of her behind. But Harry, being the gentleman he was, averted his eyes and concentrated on looking at the book titles on the shelves.

"Listen here little children," Katie said softly, yet very coldly. "If you've got a problem with Harry Potter, you'd best be ready because he'll be the least of your worries." And with that, Katie turned around, leaving the shocked group of third-years behind and walked over to Harry.

"I know you heard what I said," Katie said evenly.

"Sorry, I was honestly about to go over there myself before you got there," admitted Harry. Katie smiled at him before joining Harry over at his table. She sat across from him and pulled out her own books, parchment and quill. The pair sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Harry looked over to Katie.

"Thanks," he said quietly. Katie looked up at him with an inquiring look. "For defending me," he elaborated.

Katie smiled warmly at Harry. "Any time," she said. "You're not alone, you know."

"It sure feels like that sometimes," snorted Harry.

"But you're not," said Katie. "You have Ron, Hermione, half the teachers are in the Order you could probably go to any of them for help."

"Ron and Hermione certainly didn't help earlier," said Harry.

"They're prefects, they had to appear neutral."

"They supposed to be my best friends though."

Katie had no answer for that. "I suppose you wouldn't want to speak to Snape about anything," she joked.

Harry actually laughed at that. "Please, I'd rather go into the Forbidden Forest and ask the acromantulas for relationship advice than ask Snape for help," he laughed. Katie laughed as well and soon the two fell into silence again.

"What are you working on?" Harry asked.

"Care of Magical Creatures essay on Phoenixes," said Katie.

"You do COMC?"

"Yeah, I've always loved animals. Especially magical cats, but I don't think I'll want to meet a Nundu up close," said Katie, chuckling a little.

"A Nundu?"

"It's like a giant leopard that makes dragons look like little lizards," explained Katie.

"Sounds like I'd rather take on the Hungarian Horntail than that," said Harry.

"Oh trust me, you would."

Harry went back to his Divination assignment, which was to keep a diary of all the dreams they had for the next month. Harry was busy scribbling in the diary when Katie looked over the table, craning her neck to the side to read his work.

"You dreamt you went went to the Yule ball with an ogre?" she asked.

"Nah, I'm just putting in a load of rubbish, it's a lot better than writing what I actually..." Harry trailed off, having realised he may have said too much.

"Writing what you actually dream of?" finished Katie. Harry swallowed and nodded his head slowly. "You dream of _his_ return, don't you?"

"Yeah," said Harry, so quietly that he wasn't sure if Katie had heard him.

"I'm not going to try to pry into your life Harry," said Katie seriously. "But I'm here if you need me, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I do," said Harry. "Thanks."

"What are friends for?"

Harry smiled at that, then checked his watch. "Damn, I have to be in Umbridge's office in ten minutes!" He quickly packed his things into his bag. "I'll see you later Katie!" he called out as he left the older girl by herself, earning a scathing glare from Madam Pince.

"Oh, get over it," snapped Harry at Madam Pince before he left his library for what would no doubt be hell on earth.

 _A/N- I don't want this to be some story where Harry and Katie get together really quickly. I want to flesh out Katie's character first and give the two a lot more interaction before they begin to be attracted to one another. but anyway hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!_


	9. Chapter 9- Healing Factor

**Chapter 9- Healing Factor**

Harry knocked on the door to Professor Umbridge's office.

"Come in," said the irritating simper of Umbridge's voice. Harry opened the door and had to remove his glasses from his eyes to stop his eyes from overloading.

In all his years at Hogwarts, Harry had been inside the Defence office three times. The first time was in his second year, when Gilderoy Lockhart had hung up dozens of portraits of himself. The second time was third year with Remus Lupin, and it was likely you would see some strange Dark creature in a cage or glass box. The impostor Moody had packed the office with various artifacts and instruments designed for the detection of troublemakers and concealment.

Now, the Defence office's walls were painted with a horrible bright pink that practically glowed like a neon light. Many of the surfaces had been draped in lacy covers and cloths, and there were vases of numerous dried flowers all over the room. On one wall was a collection of ornamental plates, each decorated with a horrendous, large technicolour kitten wearing an ugly bow around its neck that matched the style of Professor Umbridge's bow that she often wore atop her head.

"Is there a problem, Mr Potter?" said Umbridge in a voice that oozed fake concern.

Harry ignored his quickly rising temper and put his glasses back on, putting on his best fake smile at the toad-like woman. "No Professor, my eyes just needed time to adjust to all the pink in this office," he said politely.

"Ah yes. I take you may have guessed what my favourite colour might be?" said Umbridge in a stiffly formal tone.

"Possibly," said Harry.

"Very well," said Umbridge. She gestured to the spare desk to the side of the room, and Harry walked over and sat down in the straight-backed chair, putting his bag down to the side of the desk.

"Now, today you are going to be writing lines for me today, Mr Potter. Oh no, not with your own quill," said Professor Umbridge, smiling widely. "No, no. Today, you are going to be using one of my special quills." She reached over her desk and grabbed a long, thin black quill that had an unusually sharp point at the tip. "Here you are."

"What do you want me to write?" asked Harry.

"I want you to write, 'I must not tell lies,'" said Umbridge.

"How many times?"

"Oh, let's just say as long as it takes for the message to sink in," she said sweetly. "You may begin."

Harry shrugged and bent over to begin writing, but quickly realised something. "You haven't given me any ink," he said.

"Oh, you won't be needing any," said Professor Umbridge without even looking up from her stack of parchment that she had begun marking.

Harry put the quill to the parchment in front of him and wrote: _I must not tell lies._

Harry gasped in pain. The words that had appeared on the parchment was not the usual black that he had suspected, but rather a shining red ink. At the same time, the same words had appeared on the back of Harry's had, but quickly healed over, leaving nothing but slightly pink, but otherwise smooth skin. Harry looked up at Umbridge, who was now watching him with a triumphant smile on her face.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"No," said Harry and resumed writing his lines. Once again the words _I must not tell lies_ was carved into the flesh of the back of Harry's hand like a scalpel cutting through him, and as quickly as they appeared, they healed over.

On and on it went. Harry would write those blasted words, which would slice into his skin, then heal over again, leaving his flesh slightly worse than before. Harry came to realise that the red ink that was marking the paper wasn't ink at all, but rather his own blood. Darkness fell outside Umbridge's window, and yet there still appeared to be no sign of her letting Harry go. So he continued, each time the marks getting uglier and taking longer to heal and more painful to write.

Harry, however, wasn't got to give Umbridge the satisfaction of watching him suffer. He developed a stony expression, forcing his breathing to stay regular and beating down any cries of pain that threatened to burst out of his mouth. He wouldn't lose to Umbridge, even if it meant sitting there all night... cutting open his hand with this quill...

"Come here," said Umbridge after what felt like hours.

He stood up, his hand stinging and throbbing painfully, and walked over to Umbridge until he was standing directly next to her. He looked down at his hand, which was no longer healing, blood flowing freely from the wounds and dripping onto the plush pink carpet.

"Hand," she said. Harry held out the offending appendage. She took it in her own and Harry was forced to hold his breath as Umbridge carelessly ran her pudgy thumb across the wounds.

"Tut, tut. I don't seem to have made much of an impression yet," she said, smiling. "We'll just have to have you come back tomorrow evening then. You may go."

Harry didn't answer as he grabbed his bag and walked quickly out of Umbridge's office. Once he was sure he was far enough away he broke into a flat out sprint back to Gryffindor Tower, not even noticing that he was running at speeds no normal human being could accomplish.

Once he was back inside the Gryffindor common room, Harry looked at his hand. His healing factor had already started to kick in as he watched his skin knit back together, sealing the bloodied words on his hand. Harry smiled with grim satisfaction. _Looks like Umbridge is going to have to try a little harder to break me,_ he thought before jogging back upstairs to his dormitory.

oOoOoOo

"How was your detention?' asked Ron the next day at breakfast.

"Boring," said Harry, absentmindedly rubbing his left hand, though there was no trace of last night's torture to be seen, though he could still imagine the invisible knife carving those blasted words into his hand.

"What'd she make you do?"

"Write lines."

Ron snorted. "That's it? I would have expected her to do way worse."

 _Oh, you have no idea,_ thought Harry as he shoved a large fork-full of scrambled eggs into his mouth.

"At least it's only lines," consoled Hermione. Harry shrugged.

"I think the real punishment is making sure that I don't die of boredom," joked Harry. Ron laughed and even Hermione smiled. Harry checked his watch and stood up. "Come on, we have Double Charms."

Professor Flitwick, the tiny Charms Professor, started his lesson with the usual speech about the importance of preparing for the upcoming O.W.L.'s.

"What you must remember," squeaked Professor Flitwick from atop his usual stack of books so that he could see over his desk, "is that these examinations will influences your futures for many years to come! If you have not already given serious thought to your potential careers, then now is the time to do so! In the meantime, I'm afraid, we shall be working harder than ever to ensure that you all do yourselves justice!"

The class spent the rest of the lesson revising and practicing their summoning charms, something Harry still found easy thanks to the constant practice from last year, and the class was then given the largest set of Charms homework ever.

Transfiguration was, if it was possible, worse. Professor McGonagall gave a rather long speech before beginning teaching the class how to perform Vanishing spells.

By the end of the lesson, Harry wished he could simply vanish himself, finding the spellwork horribly difficult, though he fared much better then Ron and Neville. Hermione, of course, was able to perform the spell before anyone else. The class was then given homework that was twice as long and even more difficult than the Charms homework.

Care of Magical Creatures, Harry begrudgingly admitted, was much better than any of Hagrid's lessons under Professor Grumbly-Plank. They spent the lesson in pairs, Harry with Hermione, and took turns carefully holding a Bowtruckle while the other person attempted to sketch it. They resembled little stick men, with elongated features and green, bark-like skin and long, sharp fingers. Harry was forced to drop his Bowtruckle when it scratched his hand after he had squeezed it too tightly when Malfoy was making some infuriating comments about Hagrid, but we was able to summon the poor tree guardian with his wand and apologise to it. The Bowtruckle merely folded its arms and stuck its tongue out at Harry, but nevertheless allowed him to hold it again so that Hermione could complete her sketch.

oOoOoOo

The next detention was much of the same, though Umbridge frowned when she saw no trace of any marring on Harry's hand. She made him write twice as long the second time and by the end of the night Harry's hand was so red and covered in blood he was feeling slightly dizzy, but he refused to give in. Umbridge was wrong and Harry knew it. He knew the truth and nothing would break him, even if it killed him.

The third night was even worse and Harry actually had to sneak in some essence of Dittany and Murtlap sap to stem the blood flow while waiting for his healing factor kick into gear. He was successfully able to hide from Ron and Hermione behind the curtains of his four-poster bed while he waited for his body to begin the healing process.

It was the end of the third night of his detention that Harry noticed something different. While has was writing his lines and the black quill mercilessly tore apart his flesh on his hand, he realised that he put so much of his concentration into focussing on the pain that his temper would ebb away, leaving Harry feeling both drained and yet so much calmer than before. Ron and Hermione had noticed his more laid back behaviour during classes, and didn't accidentally break as many pieces of furniture or ink bottles as before.

When Harry got back to the Gryffindor common room he was truck with an idea. Looking around to see if nobody was within eavesdropping distance, Harry sat down in one of the armchairs closest to the fire.

"Dobby!" he called out.

A few moments later a small house elf with green tennis ball-sized eyes and a long, pointed nose and wearing an old tea towel around his torso, along with various hats that hung from his large ears appeared directly in front of Harry.

"The Great Harry Potter called Dobby sir?" the tiny elf squeaked excitedly.

"Yes Dobby, how are you?" said Harry politely.

"Oh, Harry Potter is asking how Dobby is? Dobby is most honoured sir!" exclaimed Dobby happily.

"Shh!" said Harry. "I need you to get something for me."

"Anything sir!"

"Is it possible for you to get a long, sharp needle for me?" asked Harry. The best thing about house elves, Harry found, was that they didn't ask questions, no matter how strange the request. Dobby popped out of existence, and a few seconds later reappeared, holding a thin, silver needle about two inches long.

"Thank you Dobby," said Harry appreciatively. Dobby beamed as he snapped his fingers, disappearing back to wherever he came from, most likely the Hogwarts kitchens.

And so, in classes with Umbridge or whenever he was close to losing his temper, Harry would stab himself in the hand with the needle, which he kept on his person at all times, and focussed solely on the pain he was inflicting upon himself while he waited for his temper to dissipate.

The last night of Harry's series of detentions, he didn't get to write lines. Instead, Umbridge grabbed his perfectly healed hand and twisted and turned it, scanning intently for any marks.

"How-what-how-?" spluttered Umbridge incoherently. Harry pretended to feign ignorance.

"Is there something wrong Professor?" he asked innocently. Umbridge's head shot up to look at Harry, a look of unadulterated fury blazing in her puffy black eyes.

"Why is there no mark?" she demanded.

"I'm not sure I understand what you-" Harry began in that same innocent tone.

"Don't you play coy with me, Potter!" hissed Umbridge. "Why is there no mark?"

"I'm a slow learner," said Harry, allowing himself a small smile. "It takes a lot longer for things to sink in than most people for me."

Umbridge's face scrunched up as she cursed under her breath. "Get out of my office," was all she said.

Harry couldn't stop smiling the whole way back to Gryffindor tower. He walked through the hidden entrance and spotted Ron and Hermione studying in their usual corner of the common room.

Hermione was the first to notice Harry's return. "You're back early," she noted.

"Umbridge let me off early," was all Harry said as he sat down next to Ron, who was looking at Harry curiously.

"And how, pray tell, did you manage to get off your detention?" asked Hermione, her eyes narrowing. Harry gave a quick glance around the common and leaned forward, motioning for his friends to do the same. He pulled out his wand and pointed it to his open hand.

"What are you-" started Ron.

"Just watch," interrupted Harry. " _Diffindo,"_ he murmured, and Harry's palm was sliced open, blood seeping out of the cut.

"Harry!" said Hermione loudly, drawing the attention of some other people gathered in the common room.

"Just watch," said Harry. A few seconds later the bleeding stopped and his hand knitted itself back together a few minutes later. Hermione looked up at Harry with and astonished look on her face, while Ron's eyes had widened.

"What? How?" stammered Hermione.

Harry smiled smugly at his brainy friend. "The bite gave me more than just super strength and a really bad temper," he said.

"You can _heal?"_ whispered Hermione fiercely.

"Yep."

"I really need to find out what bit you," said Hermione quietly.

"Bloody hell," murmured Ron, speaking for the first time.

"Wait, what does this have to do with your detention with Umbridge?" asked Hermione.

"Harry smirked. "Well, you know how I said that I've been writing lines in detention?" he said. Hermione nodded her head. "Well, I've been using a quill that uses my blood and leaves cuts the words into the back of my hand."

Hermione gasped. "A Blood Quill! Harry, that's illegal!" she said.

"It is?" asked Harry.

"Yes! That's barbaric, what she's doing to you!"

Harry shrugged. "Well, it's not working. Every time I go back there she gets frustrated because there's no marking on my hand," he said indifferently, though he was smiling. "She was expecting the message 'to sink in.'"

"And it's not working, so Umbridge is getting worked up about it?" guessed Ron. Harry nodded. "Wicked," said Ron and the two boys high-fived each other enthusiastically.

"It's also helped get my temper in control," said Harry. At Ron and Hermione's confused looks he continued. "When I feel my control slipping I just stab my hand with this needle and focus on the pain until my temper goes away," he said, holding out the needle he acquired from Dobby. Hermione looked at it curiously.

"Not the most conventional way to control your temper but if it works..." conceded Hermione.

"Wait, that means you can come to Quidditch tryouts!" exclaimed Ron. Indeed, Angelina had been unable to reschedule the tryouts and Harry had resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going.

"Bloody hell, you're right!" said Harry and the two boys darted back up to their dormitories, leaving Hermione by herself and shaking her head.

Harry quickly dressed into his red and gold Quidditch robes and fetched his Firebolt and prepared to head out to the Quidditch pitch, then noticed Ron holding his Cleansweep broom.

"Ron? Why are you bringing your broom?" asked Harry.

Ron looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Oh, I er..."

"Are you planning on trying out for Keeper?"

Ron looked sheepish as his ears turned bright red. "Yeah, I am," he said.

Harry's face break broke into its first genuine smile in days. "That's brilliant Ron!" he said happily before slapping the gangly red head on the shoulder. "Come on, we're going to be late."

The two friends headed down the dormitory and through the common room, where they were joined up by Hermione.

"Why do you have your broom Ron?" she asked.

"Oh, Ron's going to be trying out for Keeper this year," Harry said enthusiastically. Even Hermione smiled happily at her friend.

"Oh, Ron, that would be excellent! I hope you make it!" gushed Hermione excitedly.

"You want to come watch?" said Ron, his cheeks tinged red with embarrassment.

"I'd love to!"

"Excellent!" said Harry. "Come on, I'm already in Angelina's bad books and I'd rather not be any worse." Together the Golden Trio marched down to the Quidditch pitch, feeling happier for the first time in days.

 _A/N- A fairly smaller chapter today but hey! That just means next chapter will be better and longer! Anyways thanks again and don't forget to leave a review!_

 _Actually before I leave you to it I just wanted to say that somebody had PM'd me and asked if I could turn this into a smut/harem with multiple pairing. For the record I absolutely DESPISE harems. I don't really care if you're writing about a character that is known to be a womanizer but if you're using Harry then I think it's wrong. Harry is the sort of person who is an absolute gentlemen to all the women in his life and would only be completely loyal to one woman and I hate that people completely change Harry's personality and morals. You may not agree with me and say "oh it's fanfiction people can do whatever they want with the characters," but I feel that we still need to keep to the fundamentals of what makes a character._

 _Anyway that's my rant for the day!_


	10. Chapter 10- The Moon's Rage

**Chapter 10- The Moon's Rage**

"Aren't you supposed to be in detention?" Angelina said crossly.

Harry shrugged. "Got let off early," he said simply, sharing a glance with Ron.

Hermione had taken a seat on the stands, surrounded by her books and homework and leaving the two boys to continue on their way to the middle of the Quidditch pitch, where the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and Keeper hopefuls were standing.

"Good, now get up into the air. I need you to watch from above and point out any weaknesses," said Angelina.

Harry gave a mock salute and kicked off into the air on his Firebolt. He had missed this dearly, being up in the air. He relished the feel of the wind blowing in his face, whipping his messy hair backwards. He loved the rush of adrenaline as he dove down towards the ground and pulling up at the last second, barely a foot from the hard ground. Flying his broom in the air was the only time and place where Harry felt that he could leave all the problems and the weight of the world behind him.

"Oi! Potter! Stop showboating and do what I asked you!" shouted Angelina from down below. Harry looked down and grinned at his captain, who only scowled and shook her head, while the twins, Katie and Alicia laughed before they too took off into the air. The group of Keeper hopefuls, including Ron, followed, albeit at a much slower pace.

"Alright! I want you all to line up in an orderly fashion and wait for your name to be called up! Then it will be your job to stop the Quaffle from going through the hoops five times. If you manage that, then you will be put aside and wait to go into the next round," explained Angelina. "Am I clear?"

There were murmurs of assent from the students trying out.

"Good, now hop to it!"

The first person called out, a tall, gangly third year could barely fly up to the hoops without almost threatening to fall off, and Angelina quickly sent him away. The second and third hopefuls were much the same and they too were quickly eliminated. The fourth player was barely able to save the first shot by Alicia before he fell off his broom, but was miraculously saved by Fred and George. The fifth was almost unseated from his broom when Katie threw a wicked curve shot that forced the poor boy to duck, allowing the ball to sail harmlessly through the middle hoop.

Harry could see Angelina getting more and more frustrated as the evening wore on and the sun went down, and even Harry was groaning from up high. The prospects of a good Keeper for Gryffindor were appearing more bleak by the time it was down to the final five, which included Ron, and they hadn't even completed the first round yet.

The first of the remaining five was a tall, broad-shouldered fourth year who was able to save the first three shots, but Angelina eliminated him after he was unable to save the last two. The second boy saved all five shots, but looked a little fearful of the Quaffle in Harry's opinion, but he was able to make it to the next (and hopefully last) round. The next two boys didn't fare as well, and then it was Ron's turn.

From Harry's view, Ron looked deathly pale, the freckles on his face even more prominent than usual. Fred and George were muttering words of support to their younger brother as he walked past them, and even Hermione and stopped working on her assignments to watch Ron. He was steady as he flew up to the hoops, which Harry thought was a good sign.

Angelina was the first one up to throw the Quaffle. It soared through the air like a bullet towards the middle hoop, but Ron easily stopped it, batting away the Quaffle with the back of his fist. He blocked Alicia's shot similarly, along with Katie's. Harry smiled at his best friend. Though he looked nervous, Harry couldn't help but admit that Ron was probably one of the best amongst those who had come to try out for the team.

Alicia's second shot was blocked when Ron had to extend his foot down to block the Quaffle, and Katie's third throw was also blocked. Harry cheered, along with Hermione as their best friend made it to the next round.

Katie drifted up on her broom lazily to meet Harry, giving him a wry grin just as the final person made it to the second round.

"Enjoying the view?" she asked.

"I would, but you're in my way," said Harry lightly.

"Very funny Potter," said Katie sarcastically. "So, what do you think?" she asked, indicating to the three potential Keepers.

"The first guy's pretty good, and so is the second, said Harry. "Though I don't envy Angelina that much right now."

"True," said Katie. "What about Ron?"

"He's not as good as the others, but I think that's nerves more than anything," observed Harry. "Besides, Quidditch is in his blood, if he's not at his peak now he'll definitely get there."

"I was thinking the same thing," agreed Katie. "Though the second guy is in my year and is a bit of a whiner, so I don't see how Angelina would put him on the team for that reason."

"True," said Harry. Angelina called the two over and Harry and Katie drifted down to Angelina's level.

"So, what do you think?" she asked when the whole team gathered together.

"Ron," said Fred and George immediately.

"Whoa, easy there," said Angelina. "I don't want any nepotism."

"We're being serious," said Fred.

"Yeah, you haven't seen him play at home," added George.

"Fine. I'll keep that in mind," said Angelina, rolling her eyes. "Harry?"

Harry thought for a moment before answering. "I think we should wait till we've finished this round before making a decision," he said finally. Alicia and Katie agreed with Harry's assessment and Angelina sent them back up into the air.

Harry flew a little closer to the hoops this time, circling them like a hawk stalking a field mouse. The first boy was unable to block the Chasers' lethal combination, though having saved two of the Quaffles and being the first in line, he was not discounted from the tryout. Though that proved to be a futile decision when the second boy saved four of the shots.

Ron was last this time, and if it were possible, he looked even more terrified than before. Hermione shouted words of encouragement from down below in the stands, and Harry noticed that she was shaking with anticipation. Harry wasn't sure who was more nervous between the two.

Katie was the first, and by the look of determination on her face she wasn't planning on making this easy for Ron. He was able to stop the Quaffle from going through the right hoop however, and tossed the Quaffle back to Katie. Angelina was next and she was just as ruthless as Katie had been, but once again the results were the same, though Ron stopped the speeding Quaffle with his forehead. Alicia went next and threw a curve ball at the right hoop. Ron was just able to stop it from going through the hoop by reaching out with both hands and catching the Quaffle, his broom jerking awkwardly from the momentum of the throw.

Katie flew back up to join Harry as they watched Angelina and Alicia perform a tricky combination of passes and feints in the hopes of confusing Ron.

"This is gonna be good," commented Katie.

"He's got this," said Harry confidently. "Look at his eyes. They never lose sight of the ball. That remind you of anyone?" he added, pointing to Ron's face.

Indeed, Ron's eyes were darting back and forth between the other two Chasers, never taking them off the Quaffle for a second. Harry and Katie watched as Ron's eyebrows furrowed together and he shot his broom to the right as Alicia launched the Quaffle towards the hoop, and Ron was able to block the fourth shot when he caught it. Cheers went up all around as the score was tied up between the two last competitors.

Angelina and Alicia started another series of passes and feints to confuse Ron, but he looked more determined than ever. Alicia positioned herself to score through the left hoop and Ron moved to block the incoming throw, but at the last second Alicia passed to Angelina and the team captain threw it at the middle hoop. Ron turned his broom as hard as he could and flew as fast as he could back to the middle, and Harry was worried that he wouldn't make it. Katie, who was now floating in the air right next to Harry, grabbed his arm and squeezed tightly, her face etched with excitement.

Impossibly, Ron was able to deflect the shot at the last second with the tips of his fingers, sending the Quaffle flying harmlessly over the goal.

Harry and Katie flew down to join the rest of the team to congratulate a stunned Ron. Fred and George were dancing around swinging their Beater's bats wildly. Harry clapped Ron on the shoulder just as Hermione came down and wrapped Ron in a tight hug. She let go of him quickly though, the two blushing furiously. Angelina had separated from the rest of them and looked to be in the middle of a heated argument with the sixth year Katie had said whined a lot. The boy stomped his feet on the ground and marched out of the Quidditch pitch and Harry saw Angelina sigh and come over to congratulate Ron.

"Welcome to the team," she said happily, then her voice turned serious. "We have practice every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights so that we can get up to speed and be ready for our first match, which is against Slytherin. So try not to get into detention." She added that last part with a look at Harry, who grinned sheepishly.

Just as Angelina finished her speech, the moon rose over the Forbidden Forest, bathing the Hogwarts grounds in a cold, pale light. When the light rested on Harry's face he suddenly felt very nauseous and would have fallen to his knees if it weren't for Katie and George catching him, his head feeling like it was spinning wildly on his neck. His eyes zoomed in and out of focus and he resisted the urge to vomit.

"Harry? Are you alright?" asked Katie with concern.

"Yeah... just felt really weird," said Harry, blinking furiously to stop the dizziness.

"Take him up to the hospital wing," ordered Angelina, and Fred took Katie's place as he helped lift Harry onto his and George's shoulders.

Katie led the way as Fred and George practically dragged Harry up the stairs back into the castle. They had to stop twice so that he could dispose of the contents of his stomach, but only felt worse. The group climbed up the staircase and rounded a corner leading to the hospital when Harry gasped in pain.

The scars on his left shoulder where the lion-man had bitten him flared up in searing agony, almost making Harry pass out from the pain. The scars hadn't hurt this bad since he was bitten in the graveyard the night of the Third Task, and his vision flitted in and out of focus. The beast that Harry had worked so hard to tame over the week roared inside him and easily tore down the defenses Harry had put around it, and he was helpless to stop it from hurtling Fred and George from him, sending the two crashing into the walls on either side of the corridor.

George was knocked out instantly from the impact, and Fred's eyes glazed over when the back of his head smacked against the hard stone. Alicia and Angelina screamed and rushed over to the twins while Ron, Hermione and Katie stooped over Harry, who had fallen to his knees and crouched over, dry heaving as the pain from his scars travelled through his body, igniting his veins and nervous system with an unquenchable fire of agony.

"Come on Ron! We have to help him!" screeched Hermione, grabbing hold of Harry's right arm and trying to pull him up.

"No, Hermione! He might hit you too!" yelled Katie, pulling Hermione away from Harry, who had begun to shiver violently.

Harry looked up at the sound of Katie's voice, and she took a step back in fear. Harry's eyes were glowing a hypnotizing shade of green that glowed in the dark corridor, and she could see the pain behind them.

"Go! You have to run, all of you!" urged Harry through clenched teeth. He groaned and doubled over again, the pain of whatever was happening to him increasing tenfold. It was ten times worse than Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse, and up until this moment Harry was sure that was the worst pain known to man. He felt his bones begin to groan painfully, and Harry knew he had to get away from everyone before he lost complete control of himself and hurt someone.

So, without another thought and a sudden burst of adrenaline that seemed to come from nowhere, Harry bolted from the corridor, leaving his friends behind. He ignored the pleas and calls for him, each word sounding like somebody was ringing a church bell right next to his ears, and climbed another set of stairs. He didn't know where he was going, all Harry knew was that he had to find someplace that could stop him from hurting anybody. His journey took him up to the seventh floor and he forced himself into an abandoned classroom. He struggled to pull his wand from his pocket and pointed it to the doorknob, gasping " _Colloportus."_ The door clicked loudly as it locked, though Harry was fairly sure that a locked door wouldn't hold if he decided to break through it.

Another wave of pain shot through Harry's body and he buckled over, screaming as the agony coursed through his body like venom. His glasses fell off his head when he hit the ground. His bones creaked and stretched, his insides squirmed and jumbled uncomfortably as they rearranged themselves. His tail bone lengthened while his head elongated painfully. Harry moaned as his teeth lengthened and sharpened. His muscles, doubled, then tripled in size, tearing through his Quidditch robes, and Harry was forced to rip them off just as his nails lengthened and sharpened into razor-sharp claws. The palms and insides of Harry's fingers and feet thickened until they formed thick, leathery pads.

Black hairs sprouted all over Harry's face and body, the hair on his head growing and becoming thicker and shaggier as well, growing all over his neck as well to encase Harry's face in a long, black mane. Dark grey fur sprouted over his body as well, creating beautiful stripes that ran across his shoulders, back and down his exposed pectorals. Harry's facial features distorted and molded until they became catlike. Harry's cries gradually sounded less human as he continued to transform and became deeper and more animalistic. The tailbones continued to lengthen until it became a long, black-furred tail that ended in a dark grey tuft. The bones in his legs and feet shifted and thickened, his feet widened and he felt his pinky toe shortening until it was completely gone. Harry's legs continued to morph until they looked more like a cat's than a humans, his feet turned into massive paws with thick, leathery soles.

Little by little, the pain in Harry's body began to ebb away, receding back from the clawed, padded tips of his fingers, crawling back up through his arms and legs, down his head, up his spine and finally, his bite marks, which were no longer visible underneath the black fur that covered his body.

Breathing deeply, a low, primal rumbling that reverberated through his chest, Harry let out a deep and mighty roar as his mind became focussed on the need to do one thing: kill.

He had never felt this angry in his life, and he enjoyed it immensely. He wanted to kill, to grab something, to tear its flesh with his claws and teeth, to squeeze until he felt the bones break underneath his massive hands... and then keep squeezing.

Harry's large ears that were perched on the top of his head instead of the sides, popping out of the thick mane of fur that covered his head and down to his neck and chin, twisted like radar dishes when he heard footsteps coming down the hall from outside the classroom he was trapped in. Prey? Yes... they were coming his way, and Harry crouched behind a desk, though his massive size prevented him from completely hiding behind the desk.

" _Alohomora,"_ murmured a voice behind the door and the door clicked and swung open, revealing three teenagers. Two of them were female and the third was male. The male was tall and gangly with red hair and a pale complexion dotted with freckles. The girl that had come through the door first had bushy, shoulder-length hair. The second girl was extremely beautiful with long, brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail and had tanned skin from hours spent outside. Harry couldn't help but feel that the three teenagers looked familiar.

"Harry?" asked the bushy-haired girl, trying to peer over the desk from where she was standing.

"You alright mate?" said the tall redhead.

Harry let out a low, rumbling growl and tensed his muscles as he stood up in an attempt to terrify his soon-to-be prey. To his satisfaction, the three students' eyes widened in horror and they took a step back. Harry flung the desk aside like it was nothing as he stalked towards his victims, adrenaline pumping through his body as it prepared for the excitement of the kill. Instinct was telling Harry to move slowly, both to terrify them and to make sure that the kill would go as smoothly as possible.

He let out another growl, making the teenagers jump back. He crouched down so that his heavily muscled, overlong arms touched the ground and he stalked forward on all fours, his tail flicking behind him every so often. He stopped just a few metres from the terrified teenagers as their backs pressed against the closed door.

"H-Harry, it's us..." whimpered the bushy-haired girl. "It's Hermione..."

Harry let out a snarl in reply as he crouched low enough that his mane was brushing against the stone floor, his long claws scratching against it. The two girls closed their eyes and seemed to accept their fate, while the redhead was pointing a stick at him warningly.

With a roar that shook the whole room and forced the teenagers to cover their ears, Harry leapt at them, teeth bared and claws extended...

And slammed into an invisible wall just a few feet in front of them.

Shaking his head as he leapt up to his feet, Harry snarled and slashed at the brunette, only to once again be repelled by the invisible wall. He tried again and again, alternating between slashing with his claws and punching with all the force he could muster. Harry let out another roar, this time in frustration at having been denied his prey.

The redhead seemed to gather his courage and brandished his wand at Harry, shouting " _Stupefy!"_ a beam of red light shot out of the wand and smacked Harry in the face, sending him rearing back on his hind legs and rubbing his nose in irritation. Without his realising, Harry's mind cleared, washing away the animalistic rage and instinctive need to kill.

"Bloody hell, Ron! What was that for?!" yelled Harry as he glared at his best friend. His voice was much deeper than before and had a distinctive underlying growl to it.

"What? Says you! You just tried to eat us!" Ron shouted back.

"What are you on-" Harry stopped as the memories of the past few minutes returned. "Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry..."

"It's alright, we're fine," consoled Hermione, while Ron looked at her incredulously.

"Are you mad? He's a giant half man, half lion now!" yelled Ron. Harry, Hermione and Katie's head whipped over to Ron, who was now looking at them in confusion.

"What did you say?" said Harry.

"You're a half man, half..." Ron trailed off, realisation dawning on his face.

"Harry! The graveyard! That thing that bit you? What did it look like?" gushed Hermione, her past fear forgotten for now.

"A lion-man," said Harry, he too coming to the same conclusion. "Hermione, is there such thing as werecats?"

"I don't know, I've never heard of them before. But I'll try to look something up," said Hermione.

Harry looked over to Katie, who still seemed to have not fully recovered from Harry's attempted attack.

"Are you alright?" asked Harry in that same deep, growling voice.

Katie shook her head. "I don't know. I've never been in something like this before," she whispered, though Harry still heard her clearly.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured, looking sincerely at Katie. She looked up him and nodded her said, smiling slightly.

'Bloody hell mate, you look wicked," said Ron, awe dominating his features.

Harry looked down at himself and his eyes widened. His arms were almost as thick and long as tree trunks, muscles rippling underneath the sleek black fur. His chest was popping out far more than he remembered as well, silver stripes going over his shoulders from his back and down his pectorals.

"I wish there was a mirror around here," muttered Harry. He then noticed a large mirror propped up against one of the walls and he walked over to it on all fours, stepping over the splintered debris of the desk that he had tossed aside earlier.. He stood up on two legs again and gasped, or what was the equivalent of a giant, half man, half lion gasp.

Harry was a nine foot tall mountain of pure muscle and fur. His torso and arms resembled a a human bodybuilder's, not including the black fur and grey stripes. His arms reached down past his knees, giving Harry the posture of a gorilla, which allowed harry to easily alternate between walking on either two feet or all fours. His fingers were long and thick, with wicked long claws at the end of every phalange. Running horizontally along his deltoids were more grey stripes. His head, however was not human at all. He had a long, shaggy mane that covered his neck and went down between his shoulders and down the canyon of his chest. The mane framed a complete lion's head that had a grey streak of fur in the shape of a lightning bolt on its forehead. The only other sign that the lion's face belonged to Harry was the emerald green eyes, though Harry didn't recall his eyes ever glowing before.

Harry's legs, however, belonged to a lion's that just happened to be attached to a humanoid hip and torso. A tail flicked lazily behind Harry. He opened his mouth to reveal long, sharp canines and thick molars designed for crushing bone.

Harry looked over to his friends, who were watching him intently, and gave them the lion equivalent of a grin.

"Pretty cool, huh?" said Harry lightly.

"Except for the fact that you almost killed us," Hermione pointed out.

Harry's grin quickly fell from hi face. "Sorry about that," he mumbled.

"S' alright mate," said Ron earnestly. "You didn't mean to."

"But I could have," said Harry morosely.

Just then the door into the classroom opened, revealing Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape. All three had their wands drawn, but they hadn't seen Harry yet.

"Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, Miss Bell. Are you alright?" asked Professor McGonagall, looking over her students carefully.

"We're fine," said Katie, "but Harry..."

"Where is Harry?" asked Professor Dumbledore calmly.

"He's er..." said Ron, not entirely sure what to say.

"Here," said Harry, stepping over to them but making sure that the invisible barrier was between him and the group of students and teachers.

"What happened to you Harry?" asked Dumbledore, whose eyes had widened at the sight of the tall, muscular lion-man before him.

"Oh, now you want to know what's wrong with me?" said Harry in a sarcastic tone.

"Harry!" hissed Hermione.

"What? He ignores me all summer and now that I'm some kind of monster I'm suddenly at the top of his priorities?" growled Harry, sounding slightly more like the beast he resembled as his temper started to rise.

"Mind your tone Potter," snapped Snape, glaring at Harry. "You're just as arrogant as your father ever was."

"Oh shut up Snape. Just because you've got your arse stuck in the past and can't see me as Lily's son and not James'," snarled Harry.

"Why you little..." started Snape, raising his wand.

Harry let out a small, yet still powerful roar at the Potion's Master which sent him sprawling to the floor as he tripped over his long black cloak. Harry let out a snort of satisfaction before turning his attention back to Dumbledore.

"Now why should I tell you anything?" he demanded, glaring at the headmaster, folding his huge, furry arms in front of him.

Dumbledore sighed wearily. "You are right," he said. "I have ignored you all summer and haven't defended you as well as I should have." He looked back up at Harry. "But you must understand, however, that whatever is happening to you is far more important than any disagreements we might have at this time."

Harry was tempted to let Dumbledore know just exactly he felt about that, but nodded his head instead, deciding it best that he know what was happening to him.

"Now, can you tell me what happened?" asked Dumbledore.

And so Harry began his tale that began at the end of the Quidditch tryouts. How he felt sick when the full moon came up and how the Quidditch team tried to help him to the hospital, but in a burst of accidental strength he accidentally hurt the Weasley twins.

"How are they, by the way?" Harry asked suddenly, concerned for Fred and George.

"Mr Weasley and Mr Weasley will be fine. They're both just recovering from a mild concussion in the hospital wing," said Professor McGonagall.

Harry let out a sigh of relief and continued his tale. He told the teachers about how he had then run away from the others, warning them away. He talked about how he stumbled into the classroom they were currently talking in and locked it to make sure that no one could get in before he described the pain he felt while he transformed, and how his mind had been completely taken over by the animal for a few moments. Harry's voice dropped to a barely audible whisper when he described what he was feeling and thinking when he almost killed Ron, Hermione and Katie and how he didn't even recognise them until Ron shot a Stunning Spell at his nose.

Throughout Harry's story, Ron, Hermione and Katie had filled in their side of the story. After Harry had run away, Angelina and Alicia had taken Fred and George to the hospital wing while the other three set off in search of Harry in spite of his warning to them. They had run into Neville Longbottom along the way and sent him to fetch Professor Dumbledore. They had heard Harry's cries in the seventh floor and followed the sound to the abandoned classroom.

"What do you think is happening to me?" asked Harry, his emerald eyes shining with anguish.

"I honestly do not know," said Dumbledore. "But Remus Lupin has recently made a breakthrough regarding your rescuer's identity, which I now believe might apply to your current condition. I shall contact him tonight and see if he can come to Hogwarts tomorrow morning to have a chat with you. Now, if you allow me to take down these wards..."

"NO!" shouted Harry, raising his massive hands in front of them. "No, I don't trust myself to be around you without them. What if it's the only thing keeping me sane right now?"

"Well, if you wish harry. But perhaps you can try to transform back?" suggested Dumbledore.

"Er... I don't know how," said Harry.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward. "Mr Potter, if perhaps I might be of assistance?"

Harry nodded his head towards Professor McGonagall.

"I want you to close your eyes and reach down into the deepest recesses of your mind," she said in a strangely calm voice that was not characteristic of the Transfiguration Professor. "Once you find the part of your mind that is most human, grab onto it and pull it to the forefront of your mind. Harness your magical core and simply force the change to come."

Harry did as he was told and closed his eyes. He reached down into his mind and closed in on the warmest thoughts of himself. He held onto those and brought them forward, using his magic as a sort of harness to hold on to.

He felt himself start shrinking and his bones and innards shifting uncomfortably. His black fur shrank down until his fair skin was all that remained, and his mane vanished as well, leaving nothing but his usual mop of untidy black hair. The bones in his face shortened and shifted back into its normal appearance as his claws shrank down and were no longer razor sharp. The transformation was nowhere near as painful as when he first transformed, Harry noted.

Opening his eyes, Harry found himself back to his normal shape and size, though he was wearing nothing but his now-torn up jeans. He glared at Hermione for staring at his naked chest and she looked away, smirking slightly. Katie was openly gawking at him with her mouth slightly open, though Harry found he did not mind her looking at him like that for some reason.

Professor McGonagall conjured a white t-shirt that fit Harry perfectly as he reached down and picked his wand and glasses up off the ground. He then discovered that the wards protecting his friends and teachers from him were no longer there, and Hermione and Ron rushed forward and engulfed him in a fierce hug.

"Oh Harry! We're so sorry!" cried Hermione, sniffling slightly.

"It's okay Hermione, really," said Harry, not quite sure what she was apologising for. He let go of his two best friends and looked at Katie, who was shuffling on her feet slightly and staring down at her toes. He walked over to her and cleared his throat. When she didn't look up, he placed his fingers under her chin and tilted her head up so she could look him in the eyes. "I'm so sorry you had to see that," he whispered quietly.

"I know, and I forgive you," said Katie, unshed tears glistening in her dark brown eyes. "You couldn't control yourself, and I don't blame you for that."

Harry smiled softly at her and he pulled her into a hug. Katie didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around his waist and squeeze, and the two stayed that way for a few moments before letting go.

"Well, I must imagine that you are all feeling rather exhausted after that ordeal," said Dumbledore. Up until Dumbledore mentioned, Harry hadn't realised just how tired he was.

"I must ask you three, however, never to repeat the events of what happened tonight. Professor Umbridge is well known to have a very intolerable opinion regarding half-breeds, and she will not hesitate to have Harry expelled for this. I will send for you Harry, when Mr Lupin arrives tomorrow. Goodnight everyone." And with that, Dumbledore left the classroom, followed by Professor McGonagall and a sneering Snape.

"Well I'm tired," Harry said dryly, which earned some small laughs from Ron, Hermione and Katie. The three left the classroom, heading back to the Gryffindor common room, not realising that the door they had just exited from vanished.

 _A/N- And thus... mush is revealed! Stay tuned for the next chapter, where we discover exactly what Harry is and who saved him from Voldemort!_

 _I must say though, you guys are pretty spoilt, getting two chapters in one day!_


	11. Chapter 11- Werecats

_A/N- My sincerest apologies for the delay of this chapter but unfortunately it was out of my control seeing as there was a cyclone raging on outside of my house and living on top of a mountain, we got the worst of the wind and our power cut out._

 **Chapter 11- Werecats**

Harry awoke the next morning when he felt a surge of heat emanate from the end of his bed, as well as seeing a flash of light from behind his closed eyelids. Groaning, Harry opened his eyes groggily, grabbed his glasses from his bedside drawer and put them on. Fawkes was standing on the end of his bed, looking at him expectantly with those dark, beady eyes.

"Morning Fawkes. I take it Dumbledore wants to see me?" said Harry. The phoenix let out a soft chirp and waddled across Harry's bed, sticking its tail feathers at Harry. He jumped out of bed and dressed in a loose t-shirt and pants, then put some socks and shoes on. Harry nervously grabbed on to one of the feathers and his body was consumed with a pleasant warming sensation before he was engulfed in fire.

The next thing Harry knew, he was standing in Professor Dumbledore's office. Numerous strange, metallic objects littered the Headmaster's office, some puffing out various coloured smokes, other spinning mechanically on their axis. The former Headmaster portraits sat in their portraits sleeping, although Harry knew by now that they were in fact only pretending so that they would be able to eavesdrop without getting caught.

Fawkes had flown over to his perch and was watching Harry curiously. Below the perch sat Professor Dumbledore and Remus, along with another man who Harry had never met before. He had shaggy golden hair that fell to his shoulders, and looked well-muscled underneath the brown dragon hide trench coat he wore.

"Ah, Harry. I take it your trip was comfortable?" said Dumbledore in a grandfatherly voice.

"Loads better than Floo or Apparition," admitted Harry.

"Yes, I find myself agreeing with you," said Dumbledore, chuckling lightly.

"Hello Harry," said Remus, standing up from his chair and extending his hand outwards. Harry shook the offered hand and smiled.

"How have you been?" asked Harry.

"I've had better days, the full moon was last night," said Remus. Indeed, Remus did look the worst for wear. He had massive bags under his eyes and his face was even more pallid than usual. The tattered clothing he wore only seemed to make his ragged appearance even worse. "Though I'd say you know all about that, if what I heard about last night is true," continued Remus.

Harry shrugged. "I guess. But that's why we're here this morning? To talk about what's going on with me?"

"Indeed," said Remus. He gestured to the man still seated, who hadn't even glanced up at Harry yet. "This here is Dillon Adams. I believe you two have met before."

"I don't think..." Harry stopped when the golden-haired man stood up and finally turned to Harry. He had a well trimmed beard the same colour as his hair and his skin was slightly less fair than Harry's. A long scar was cut along the bridge of his nose, and another running vertically down his left eye. His eyes themselves were a piercing, cold blue that made Harry freeze in his tracks.

"Wait, I know you," said Harry, taking a sniff with his nose. The man smelled of vanilla and freshly cut grass, with just the slightest hint of blood. Everything about this man, from his thick frame to his piercing blue eyes and scars screamed 'VERY DANGEROUS.'

"I would expect you to," said the man in a deep, proud voice that had a slight Scottish accent to it. "I did save your life, after all."

Harry's eyes widened in shock. "You're the the lion man?!" he exclaimed.

The man, Dillon, let out a hearty chuckle. "That is one thing to call ourselves I guess," he said heartily. His face grew serious when he uttered the next words, however. "I heard you finally matured, Mr Potter."

"M-matured?" stammered Harry.

"Your first full moon? You turned into a great big half lion, half man like me?"

"Oh, er... right. yeah," said Harry, ducking his head slightly.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "If I may ask, but what are you?" he asked.

Dillon straightened his back proudly, puffing out his chest. "We are werecats. One of the most ancient and rare species of werebeasts on the planet," he said proudly.

The only person in the room not surprised by this news was Remus.

"Werecats? I though they were just a legend?" Dumbledore said incredulously.

"I can assure you we are real," said Dillon. "You yourself have seen proof of this in Mr Potter."

Harry groaned. Why did this always happen to him?

"Have a seat Harry. I suspect this may take a while," said Dumbledore, conjuring another chair. Harry, Remus and Dillon all sat down in their chairs, and Dillon leaned forward, his cold eyes boring into Harry.

"How much do you know about werebeasts?" he asked.

"Er... not much," Harry admitted. "I thought werewolves were the only kind."

"Werewolves are certainly the most common werebeasts on the planet, particularly in Europe," said Dillon. "Werecats are the rarest though, with only about thirty across the entire globe. However, werecats themselves are split into subspecies. For example, you and I are were-lions."

"I don't understand though. There were two full moons before last night, so how come I didn't transform then?" asked Harry.

"Because the infection hadn't fully integrated into your magic," explained Remus. "The infection of a werecat bite molds into your magical core, becoming an extension of your magical abilities, which means that you have better control over your transformations and the beast within you.

"Werewolf bites, on the other hand, fight against your magic, as your magical core treats it as a foreign substance that must be destroyed. That is why werewolves only transform during the full moon and are considered monstrous killers."

"So that's why I was able to regain control over myself after Ron tried to stun me," Harry thought allowed. "But that doesn't explain why it hurt so much."

"That is because it was your first transformation," said Dillon. "As your magical core stabilizes and you transform more often, it will become easier until transforming is as easy as breathing."

"Wait, I'll be able to transform whenever I want?" Harry said excitedly.

"Indeed."

"Wicked," muttered Harry. He looked thoughtful then. "What about my temper? Will I be more in control of it now that I can transform into a werecat?"

Dillon gave Harry a sad smile. "Unfortunately, you may find it even more difficult to reign in now. That is the one disadvantage we have, so be mindful of your temper around others, especially the ones you care about..." he trailed off then, a look of sorrow briefly flashing across his scarred face.

Harry was tempted to ask the golden-haired man what happened to him, but decided to change the subject. "So what happens to me now?" he asked.

"Now," said Dillon, snapping out of his mood. "I tell you everything there is to know about werecats."

Harry leaned forward, feeling excitement brewing in his chest as his heart hammered thunderously.

"As you know, your physical abilities have increased dramatically. You are stronger, faster, and you can go for longer and heal faster as well. Have you noticed these changes?"

"Yeah, I broke a desk with one punch the other day," said Harry, sending Dumbledore an apologetic glance. Dumbledore was conveniently looking as though he wasn't paying attention to Harry's statement, something which the boy found rather amusing.

"Indeed," said Dillon as he nodded his head. "Well, in your beast form those abilities increase even further. My personal favourite is the healing. You could be stabbed through the chest with a sword and heal in a matter of seconds. Of course it won't save you from some of the more Dark curses like the Cruciatus and Killing Curses, or even extremely powerful Cutting Curses, so don't get cocky.

"What you must understand is that your beast form is a force of nature that coexists with you. If you respect its power, you will learn to control it better and become more in touch with your magic. Disregard its power and the consequences will be more than severe for both yourself and those around you."

Dillon took a deep breath before continuing. "The werecat is arguably one of the most powerful of the werebeasts, second only to the Werebear. A fully blood lusted werewolf is little more than a nuisance to a fully mature werecat, no offence Remus."

"None taken," said Remus jovially. "I would to see you take on Fenrir Greyback though."

"I would as well," said Dillon. "However, I would not recommend fighting an entire pack of werewolves."

"Wicked," Harry said, remembering that horrible night in his third year when Remus tried to kill him and Hermione. _It would certainly be useful should something like that happen again,_ thought Harry.

"You must be aware, however, that injuries inflicted upon yourself or other werebeasts, or by very Dark Magic take much longer to heal than normal wounds," said Dillon. "And they will always leave a scar," he added, pointing to the two long scars on his face.

"Avoid Dark Curses and don't get scratched or bitten by other werebeasts, got it," said Harry.

"Excellent!" said Dillon, clapping his hands together and rising from his chair before walking over to the middle of the office. Harry noticed that Dillon had a pronounced limp. "Now, let's see your beast form."

"W-what?" said Harry.

"Your form, let's see it!" Dillon repeated excitedly.

"Um, I don't know how to change," said Harry quietly. Dillon's face fell slightly.

"Not a problem. I will teach you," he said. He pulled out his wand and flicked it, banishing the chairs to the side of the room to create some space. He gestured to Harry to stand in the middle of the room. "You should probably take your clothes off first," said Dillon.

Harry looked horrified at Dillon's suggestion. "What? Here? In front of you all?" said Harry.

"Well, do you want more of your clothes to be torn apart?" said Dillon, beginning to sound slightly impatient.

Harry grumbled unintelligibly as he stripped off his shirt, pants, shoes and socks until he was in nothing but his underpants. He blushed red in embarrassment, but Dillon looked unamused. Remus, however, looked like he was trying hold in a laugh.

"What are you smirking at?" growled Harry.

"Oh nothing, it's just that James was just as modest as you are," said Remus, who was openly grinning now. "Except for whenever Lily was around of course. He was always trying to show off his abs, or rather lack thereof, to her."

Harry rolled his eyes at his former Defence teacher. "Let's just get this over with," he grumbled.

"Close your eyes," said Dillon. "I believe Professor McGonagall instructed you in a similar manner last night on how to revert to your human form. I must say you getting it right on the first try is very impressive. I was stuck in my beast form for nearly a whole month before I was found by the werecat who bit me.

"But I digress. Now, I want you to clear your mind of everything. Think of nothing but how you were feeling and the instincts that were driving you last night."

Harry frowned slightly. Did he really want to bring those feelings back up, seeing as he was letting them tell him to kill his friends?

"I said clear your mind," snapped the voice of Dillon.

Harry quickly tried to clear his mind and remember back to the events of last night. He remembered the painful shifting of his bones as they morphed into new shapes, his claws scratching the stone floor, leaving ugly gouges in the stone. The deep rumbling of his breath as he breathed in and out, his saliva dripping from his mouth as he prepared to clamp his jaws around Katie's smooth neck...

All at once Harry let out a roar as his body was encased in a warm sensation. His bones creaked slightly, but nowhere near as painful as last night. His body grew black and grey fur at a much faster rate than before and his fangs lengthened rapidly. The transformation was over very quickly and Harry let out a roar to showcase his power, startling several of the portraits from their 'sleep.'

"Well done Mr Potter!" Dillon said excitedly, like a schoolboy going to the zoo for the first time. "That was much quicker than I anticipated!"

Harry was standing almost twice as tall over everyone else, and he crouched back on his haunches to sit eye level with everyone else. His ears twitched at the sounds of the various gadgets whizzing and puffing in Dumbledore's office, the sounds ten times as loud as before. Harry's eyes zeroed in on Remus, who looked a little shocked, and, if Harry guessed correctly, nervous.

"My, you are a very exquisite specimen indeed," continued Dillon, walking around Harry to inspect him. "Not quite as large as me, though your size is still impressive. I've never seen a werecat with such a dark shade of black before. Well, not a werecat who resembles a lion. And these tripes on your back! How fascinating indeed..."

"Er... sir? Why do I look like a lion?" asked Harry in his now deep, growling voice.

"Well, every werecat looks unique Mr Potter," explained Dillon. "It is believed that we take a similar appearance to the cat we personify the most. I have met a man who transformed into a werecat resembling a black panther, and let me tell you, he could sneak up on just about anyone.

"In your case, you most personify the qualities of a lion. You are exceptionally brave, if the stories of your deeds are true, and you are a born leader and fiercely protective of the ones you care about most, or rather, your 'pride.' These stripes on your back and shoulders however, indicate that you may also possess the qualities of a tiger in that you are a fierce warrior with a driven mind and spirit. You are also possibly wise beyond your years."

"What about my fur colour?"

"Oh, that is honestly just because of the colour of your hair. There is no deep, spiritual meaning behind that."

"Oh," said Harry, feeling a little disappointed. "Will I always have to take my clothes off when I transform?" he asked suddenly.

"I thought you'd never ask," said Dillon with a Cheshire cat grin. He limped forward and transformed into a massive golden were-lion that stood almost a head taller than Harry. Harry also noticed that Dillon hadn't taken his clothes off, they simply faded as they were replaced with fur. The scars of Dillon's face were still there, Harry noticed.

"As you mature and become more acquainted with your transformations, you will learn to simply blend your skin into your transformations much like how an Animagus does. You will also learn to completely turn into your animal," said Dillon, shrinking slightly as his upper body morphed into a cat's, becoming a pure, yet very oversized lion.

"Whoa," said Harry. "How can I learn that?"

"In time, Mr Potter. What I have shown you takes werecats months, if not years to perfect," said Dillon. He quickly transformed back into a human and instructed Harry to do the same. Harry's transformation was a little slower, but he already felt that he was getting the hang of it. Dillon, Remus and Dumbledore looked away as Harry put his clothes back on and the two werecats sat back down in their chairs after Dumbledore used his wand to rearrange his office back into its previous order.

"Now, I must say that I am thoroughly fascinated with all of this," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling madly.

"Thank you Albus," said Dillon. "Now, how often is Mr Potter available for lessons?"

"Lessons?" asked Harry.

"Well, somebody has to teach you to harness your power, it might as well be the guy who turned you," said Dillon with a shrug.

"Yeah. That reminds me, why did you turn me?" said Harry, shifting in his seat to look his new mentor directly in the eye.

"In all honesty, I was caught up in the heat of the battle," said Dillon. "But I now realise that you will need all the help you can get if you wish to defeat Voldemort."

Harry was surprised at the Dillon's casual use of Voldemort's name. This automatically put the were-lion up highly in Harry's list of people he respected.

"What happened after I left the graveyard?" said Harry. He was eager to know what happened. "And how did you know I was there in the first place?"

"I didn't," Dillon said bluntly. "I was hunting a herd of deer near Little Hangleton, and I sensed a powerful concentration of Dark magic in the area. So, abandoning my hunt, I went to investigate and found myself watching a particularly nasty ritual being performed. I saw you and knew I had to act, but Voldemort had put up some kind of ward around the graveyard that prevented outside influence. It wasn't until you started dueling that I felt the wards fail, which I suspect had to do with the fact that Voldemort's concentration had lapsed.

"After you escaped, I was captured by Voldemort, who wanted to know what I was, he having never heard of werecats himself. I was knocked out and brought to a secure location, probably one of Voldemort's Death Eater's homes. I was tortured for weeks until Mr Lupin here, along with several of his friends, found me and rescued me in a secret raid."

"I had been following several leads of mysterious sightings of magical creatures in the hopes of locating Harry's rescuer," started Remus. Harry noticed that Dumbledore was just as invested in the tale as he was, probably hearing this for the first time. "I had managed to infiltrate a bar in Knockturn Alley, where a drunk Macnair was bragging about having captured a strange magical creature and keeping it in the basement of his home.

"I organised a rescue mission and took myself, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad-Eye Moody and Tonks over to the Macnair home and infiltrated it. Upon going down into the dungeons we found Dillon here, beaten and bruised and brought him home with us.

"Molly fussed over him as she usually does, and we thought it best to bring Madam Pomfrey along but by the time she arrived, Dillon's wounds had almost completely healed and he had reverted back to his human form and was sleeping heavily."

"Goodness, look at the time," said Dumbledore. "I believe it is time for breakfast Harry. Mr Adams will return next week for your first lessons with him, but be mindful, Professor Umbridge already suspects you after the events of last night, so your lessons will not be regularly scheduled."

Harry took Professor Dumbledore's dismissal with stride and reached over to shake Dillon and Remus' hand. "Tell Padfoot I said hello," he said to Remus.

"Of course Harry, I'm sure he'll appreciate that," the werewolf replied.

"Professor Dumbledore, is it alright if I tell Ron and Hermione about this?" asked Harry.

Professor Dumbledore and Dillon shared a look. "I see no reason why not," he finally answered.

"But I must warn you. The knowledge of werecats is a closely guarded secret, known only to a few in the world," said Dillon. "Can you trust your friends with this?"

"Of course," said Harry without hesitation.

"Very well," acquiesced Dillon.

"Later Fawkes."

The phoenix gave a soft trill as Harry left.

oOoOoOo

"Bloody hell," said Ron. Hermione didn't even bother to scold Ron for his language, as she bore the same look of disbelief on her face.

The trio were sitting in their favourite corner of the common room after breakfast, and Harry had just finished telling them of the conversation he had in Dumbledore's office.

"Well, it certainly explains a lot," said Hermione finally. Harry and Ron gave her a quizzical look.

"Don't you see? The strength, the healing, your temper? Even werewolves go through this when they're first bitten," explained Hermione.

"Yeah, but Dillon said that my temper will always be a problem," said Harry.

"We'll find a way to help you," said Hermione, taking Harry's hand. "Who knows? Maybe this Dillon will have a way to control your emotions."

"I sure hope so," said Harry quietly. "The only problem we have is organising times for lessons. Dumbledore reckons that Umbridge's been snooping around."

"Ugh, can't she just leave us alone?" said Ron angrily, leaning back in his chair.

"Doubt it, it's her job to annoy us remember?" said Harry. At that moment Katie walked into the common room with Lee Jordan and Alicia. Harry stared at her as she sat down with some of her friends in her own year and started talking, but she looked up and gave Harry a concerned look. Harry looked away and turned his attention back to Ron and Hermione.

"I think we should tell Katie," said Harry.

"Why?" said Ron.

"Because she was there last night as well, remember? I almost killed her as well," hissed Harry.

"But Harry, you said it yourself. This is top secret," whispered Hermione, herself now looking over to Katie.

Harry followed Hermione's line of sight and looked over at the sixth year Chaser. She really did deserve an explanation.

"I think we can trust her," Harry decided.

"Alright, but you're telling her," said Ron.

Harry glared at his best friend and stood up, walking over to Katie's group. The group of girls started whispering as they saw him approaching, though Katie still hadn't looked up. He stood before the group, shifting awkwardly on his feet as he waited for Katie to notice Harry there. Some of her friends were giggling at Harry's discomfort and whispering behind their hands to each other, not realising that Harry could hear them perfectly fine.

"Why's he standing there?"

"I don't know, ask him."

"You ask him!"

"Do you think he wants to ask one of us to the next Hogsmeade trip?"

"Oh that would be amazing!"

"Katie?" said Harry, stopping the whisperings. The pretty brunette finally looked up and gave Harry a warm smile.

"Yes Harry?" she said politely, the smile never leaving her face.

"Er..." Harry quickly glanced at her friends, feeling extremely uncomfortable. It seemed no matter how old he got he would never understand the fairer sex. "Can I talk to you? Privately?"

"Sure Harry," said Katie, standing up. Harry led the way out of the Gryffindor common room, but gave Ron a glare after the redhead said "smooth," knowing full well that Harry could hear him.

Harry could sense Katie's growing curiosity as he led her out of the castle and into the grounds around the Black Lake, where the Giant Squid was busy splashing a couple laying on the shore in an awkward embrace. He still didn't say anything until they were far away from any prying eyes and ears.

"How are you?" he said.

"Doing well, considering you tried to eat me last night," joked Katie.

"Er... that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," said Harry.

"You're leading me away somewhere no one can see so you can eat me?"

Harry's eyes widened as he stopped to stare at the girl beside him. "What- no, er- I uh..." he stuttered.

Katie let out a giggle that Harry suddenly found he quite liked. "Relax, I was just teasing you," she soothed.

Harry felt his cheeks burning. "Oh er, right um..." he cleared his throat. "I just wanted to explain to you what happened to me last night."

"You don't have to say anything Harry," Katie said in an understanding tone.

"I know, but I _want_ to tell you," said Harry seriously. "It wouldn't feel right if you went through all that last night and not get an explanation."

Katie sighed but nodded her head.

"Great! So um, I should probably start with the night of the Third Task," began Harry. "I didn't escape Voldemort-" he ignored Katie's flinch "-through sheer skill or anything that night. I was saved by a big monster. But in the chaos that ensued the beast bit me. I escaped with Cedric's body that night, but the beast was captured, and it left me with a gift of sorts."

Harry pulled up his shirt to show Katie the scars that Dillon had left on him when he bit Harry. Katie gasped loudly as she stared at the ugly scars, and looked as though she wanted to reach out and touch them, but Harry put his shirt back on.

"Over the holidays I noticed that I was slowly changing. I felt stronger, faster, my reflexes were sharper and I could hear and smell loads better, and these abilities were only increasing as the summer wore on. Unfortunately with these new powers my temper grew as well. The little things would set me off completely, but being in a Muggle household and neighbourhood I had to let my temper simmer inside me.

"Then, when I got to Order Headquarters, everything inside me exploded. I completely destroyed my bedroom with my bare hands, and said some very nasty things to Ron and Hermione. I did apologize afterwards and they were really understanding, but my fuze was still really short.

"It turns out that the reason why I was so short-tempered all summer and why I had changed physically so much is because I was bitten by a werebeast."

"You're a werebeast?" exclaimed Katie. "But you didn't match the description of what a werewolf looks like."

"That's because I'm not a werewolf," said Harry. "I'm a werecat, or were-lion to be specific." Seeing the look of confusion on Katie's face, Harry pressed on. "Werecats are considered myth even in the magical world because we're so rare. There's next to no information on us, and there are only about thirty of us across the entire globe. We're different from other werebeasts because we have almost complete control over our transformations, unlike werewolves who only transform during the full moon.

"We're a lot more powerful than werewolves too. From what my new mentor said I'm guessing that a fully mature werecat can take on an entire pack of werewolves. In my beast form I'm even stronger and faster, but I'm also loads more aggressive. I can heal super fast as well. The only things that can cause any lasting damage are other werebeasts and Dark curses."

"Wait how fast is super fast?" interrupted Katie, looking slightly skeptical.

"Well, the way my mentor put it, he said that someone could stab me in the chest with a sword and I'd heal in a matter of seconds in my beast form," answered Harry.

"Whoa," whispered Katie.

"Yeah," agreed Harry.

Neither spoke for the next few minutes, continuing their walk around the Black Lake in surprisingly comfortable silence.

"So what now?" Katie finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Now? My mentor will be coming to Hogwarts every now and again to help me harness my powers while making sure I keep in Umbitch's good books," said Harry.

Katie let out a laugh. "Umbitch? I think that's a suitable nickname for the toad," she giggled.

Harry raised an eyebrow while smirking. "You made the toad connection too?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "I think everybody made that connection."

"Oh, right," said Harry sheepishly, ducking his head slightly to hide his blush.

"You can't tell anybody what I've told you," he said seriously.

"Of course not," Katie quickly said. "But why are you telling me?"

"Well, I guess it's because I trust you," said Harry. Katie beamed.

"Thanks Harry. That really means a lot," she said earnestly.

By the time they had finished talking, Harry and Katie had finished their circuit around the lake and were heading back up to the castle. Harry spared a quick glance over at Hagrid's, but the small cabin looked abandoned. Katie noticed Harry's glum look.

"Do you know where he is? Hagrid, I mean," said Katie.

Harry shook his head. "No," he said quietly.

"You were pretty good friends with him, weren't you?"

"He was the first friend I ever had," Harry answered bluntly. He heard Katie's sharp intake of breath and she looked at him sadly, but thankfully she didn't say anything, instead simply rubbing his arm gently with her hand.

"Smells like lunch is ready," Harry said suddenly, taking a quick sniff of the air.

"That's a little creepy you know," said Katie, smirking slightly. "But I hope your Seeker reflexes are better now that you're pretty much a superhero."

"Very funny Bell," said Harry sarcastically.

"Who said I was joking?"

"Er..."

"Kidding," laughed Katie. She then took a quick look at the entrance hall and smirked at Harry. "Last one to the table is a rotten egg!" And with that, Katie pushed Harry over and ran as fast as she could to the Gryffindor table.

Harry quickly recovered and scowled before taking off after the Chaser. "Very mature Bell!" he yelled after her.

Thanks to his superior speed, Harry was quickly able to catch up with Katie and they sat down next to each other at the same time, opposite Ron and Hermione.

"Cheater," grumbled Katie.

"You're the one who had to push me over to get a head start!" complained Harry.

"Well, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to win," said Katie in an almost perfect impersonation of Draco Malfoy.

"Whatever," sighed Harry, helping himself to a chicken sandwich. He ignored the inquisitive looks Ron and Hermione were giving him and dug into his sandwich. Just then several owls flew into the Great Hall, each carrying the afternoon edition of the _Daily Prophet._ One landed in front of Hermione and stuck its leg out. Hermione took the paper and handed the owl some knuts, and it then took off out of the Great Hall. Hermione unrolled the paper and began reading, but gasped as her face contorted into a look of outrage.

"What is it?" said Harry. Hermione only handed Harry the paper as she huffed angrily. Harry took it and read the headline.

 _Hogwarts Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor_

 _to become Hogwarts High Inquisitor!_

"Oh, bloody buggering hell," muttered Katie beside Harry.

 _A/N- Dillon= Irish for Lion_

 _When I imagine Harry speaking in his beast form I hear Idris Elba's performance of the tiger Shere Khan in the 2016 adaptation of "The Jungle Book," for some reason. That man has a wicked awesome voice. Just thought I'd point that out._


	12. Chapter 12- Time to Fight Back

_A/N- Okay I have some bad news. So that cyclone that tore through where I live and cut all the power to my home? Well... it sort of erased all the chapters I had been working on for 'Gryffindor's Inheritance,' and needless to say I sort of went berserker on everything. Thankfully though I'd saved all my work for "The Lion's Stripes" on a USB. Anyway enjoy!_

 **Chapter 12- Time to FIght Back**

"What the hell is a High Inquisitor?" said Ron, looking over at Harry and Katie.

"It means she can interfere with the school," said Hermione. "She can make all these new rules up and there's nothing Dumbledore can do about it."

"Bloody buggering hell," said Ron, echoing Katie's statement.

"Wait, it says here that Umbridge is going to be assessing all the teachers in their classrooms to assess they're effectiveness in teaching," said Harry, pointing to the section to show the other three.

"Excellent! I can't wait to see Umbridge get chewed out by McGonagall," exclaimed Ron happily, high-fiving Harry across the table.

"That would be pretty funny to see," agreed Katie. "But what about the other teachers? She's probably going to be extra hard on some like Professor Flitwick and Trelawney."

"Oh damn, I didn't think of that," said Ron. "And we now know that Umbridge hates half-breeds, but I doubt she can do anything to Flitwick, he's too good of a teacher."

"I guess it's a good thing that Hagrid isn't around at the moment," said Harry quietly. "She'd kick him out for sure."

Nobody had anything to say about that.

"What about Snape? As much as I hate the git I reckon he'd give Umbridge a hard time," said Katie.

"I don't even know who I hate more, Snape or Umbridge," said Ron thoughtfully.

"Umbridge," said Harry without hesitating. Ron, Hermione and even Katie looked at Harry in surprise. The animosity between Harry and Snape was legendary throughout the whole school.

"Really? I thought for sure you would want to see Snape kicked out," said Ron.

"Well Snape doesn't try to bleed me out for speaking the truth," snapped Harry a little too harshly.

Ron blanched, but said nothing.

"I'm sorry Ron, it's just that I really hate Umbridge," said Harry contritely.

"It's alright mate, really," said Ron. "Come on, let's go for a ride on our brooms. I want to get some practice in and you need to vent some anger. You coming Harry?"

"Sure," answered Harry, standing up. "You want to join us Katie?"

"I'd love to," she said lightly.

oOoOoOo

Just as Hermione said, the next few days were filled with new decrees posted all along the walls in the Entrance Hall by Mr Filch. It seemed that the whole point of the decrees was to restrict the student body's lives, and it was causing adverse affects on everybody, especially the students taking their O.W.L's and N.E.W.T's this year. Harry's lessons with Dillon kept getting put off by Dumbledore as Umbridge was spending more and more time in his office, getting more decrees signed of by Fudge. Harry's temper only seemed to be getting worse, and he spent most of his afternoons in detention with Umbridge, slicing the words ' _I must not tell lies'_ into his hand over and over again.

It got to the point where his hand was bleeding so much that Harry would have to sneak into an abandoned classroom after every detention to transform into his beast form to start the healing process faster, otherwise he would faint from the blood loss. Hermione constantly pressured Harry into talking to Dumbledore about this torture, but he deliberately waved her off, not wanting to put any more pressure on the Headmaster. The only upside from receiving all these detentions was that it gave Harry an opportunity to practice transforming into his beast form, and he was beginning to notice that it was becoming more easier and less painful every time.

This night, however, was unlike any other detention he had received before. Harry had recently gotten another detention after he snidely commented on the deceased Professor Quirrell being possessed by Voldemort in Harry's first year, and Umbridge was relentless. He was called into detention much earlier than his usual five o'clock, and judging by the sinister look on Umbridge's face, he knew he was in a lot of trouble.

"Sit down, Mr Potter," she said in her sickly sweet voice, her wide smile stretching until it looked like her face would split in half from the effort.

"The usual lines?" said Harry, the hairs on the back of his neck rising.

"Yes, of course," she answered sweetly, gesturing to the desk.

Harry sat down and picked up the pointed black quill and began writing his lines. Almost immediately Harry noticed something was wrong when blood began gushing out instantly, instead of the faint red marks it usually left after the first few lines. But it wasn't just the back of his hand getting sliced open. Harry rolled up his sleeve and his eyes widened in shock when he saw the words opening all over his arm. The words were a darker red than usual, and the blood was dripping freely down his hand and arm onto the floor and desk.

"Let's see if the words will sink in this time," sneered Umbridge with a malicious smile.

Harry continued to write his lines, refusing to break under the pressure Umbridge was putting on him. But Harry had a feeling that he was going to lose tonight, judging from the amount of blood that was pouring from his hand and arm now. He suspected that some blood vessels had been sliced open, and he was starting to feel light-headed. The room was spinning around him, and his mind was beginning to shut down from the blood loss.

"You may leave now," said Umbridge suddenly.

Harry barely acknowledged the vile teacher as he stumbled from the office. He had to get to a classroom and transform, or he would would pass out from blood loss. Limping down the corridor, he saw the closed door of the empty classroom he would use to transform into his lion form. His vision blurred all of a sudden and he staggered then fell to the ground, landing face-first. Groaning, Harry tried to crawl to the classroom, but the edges of his vision were starting to blacken. He had to get to the room... but his body was starting to fail him. Why wasn't his healing factor kicking in already? Surely enough time had gone past?

The last thing Harry recalled before blacking out was the sound of a girl calling out his name.

oOoOoOo

"Do you think he will be alright?"

"I don't know, there was a lot of blood when Luna found him."

 _Fred? Ginny?_ thought Harry as his mind swam back into consciousness

"That vile toad! She needs to be reported!"

 _That was definitely Hermione._

"One day, he couldn't get a detention for just one day?!"

 _Angelina? Bloody hell, is the entire Gryffindor House here?_

"He pushed Umbridge too far this time I think," said Ron.

Harry groaned as he opened his eyes, seeing nothing but blurry shapes. Somebody put Harry's glasses on his head for him and the shapes sharpened into the entire Gryffindor team, plus Hermione and Ginny. Ron, Hermione, Fred and George were giving him sympathetic looks, while Katie and Alicia looked like they had recently been crying. Ginny and Angelina looked plain murderous, though Harry suspected that the two were angry over completely different things. He looked around and saw that he was in the hospital wing, again, though it was the first time this year.

"What happened?" he asked tiredly, avoiding Angelina's glare.

"Well, Luna Lovegood found you passed out near an abandoned classroom," said Hermione. "You were covered in lots of blood."

"When am I not covered in blood?" Harry asked sarcastically, earning several chuckles from everyone except for Angelina, who was still glaring at him.

"What's wrong with you?" the dark-skinned girl blurted out.

"What?" said Harry, feeling confused now.

"You had practice tonight! But you were stuck in another detention with Umbridge because you couldn't keep your mouth shut!" said Angelina loudly.

"Well it's nice to see where your priorities lay, Johnson," snarled Harry. "Oh no, you couldn't say 'How are you Harry?' or, 'I'm so sorry that you were injured.' No, you were more concerned about a stupid game coming up in a few weeks!"

There were several gasps of shock coming from the Weasleys' direction, namely Ron. Even Angelina looked surprised at Harry's outburst.

"I'm sorry that you're under pressure Angelina, really. But if you're more concerned about winning a stupid cup, then I don't want to be on the Quidditch team anymore," Harry said more softly, yet even more firmly. Everybody's eyes widened at Harry's exclamation, and Fred and George's mouths dropped open in shock.

"What? You can't be serious! We need you!" yelled Angelina.

"I'm sorry, but unless you change your attitude, you can find yourselves a new Seeker," retorted Harry.

Angelina looked like she was about to reach for her wand and kill Harry right there and then, but instead she huffed angrily and stormed out of the hospital wing, followed closely by Alicia and Katie, who both gave him a sympathetic look.

"You're not serious, are you Harry?" said Ron.

"No, Sirius is my godfather," replied Harry. Everyone looked confused for a moment before they caught on to Harry's joke and laughed.

"No, seriously Harry, are you actually quitting?" Ron repeated.

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his raven hair. "Yeah, I think I am. I'm under too much pressure right now, and unless Angelina comes out and apologizes to me, I'm not going to practice," he said slowly.

"But mate! I need you out there!" exclaimed Ron.

"We all need you!" said Fred.

"You're the best Seeker Gryffindor's had since Charlie!" added George.

"I'm sorry. Really, I am," said Harry with genuine remorse.

"But Harry, you love flying," said Hermione. Flying to Harry was like reading a new book to Hermione, and Harry imagined that Hermione couldn't even imagine giving that up.

"Look, I probably won't quit the team, but something tells me that Umbridge is gonna bring in some new decree that bans anybody's whose last name is Potter from playing Quidditch anyway," said Harry. "She's really out to get me."

"Can't argue with that," said Ron, just as Madam Pomfrey came out of her office, carrying several potions.

"Ah! I was wondering when you would finally come and visit, Mr Potter," said the school nurse lightly. "I think a month is a record, I'm guessing?"

"I think you would be right," said Harry lightly.

"Here, drink these," instructed Madam Pomfrey, handing him the potions.

Harry grimaced as he swallowed the various potions.

"Can't you make a potion that tastes a little nicer?" he asked after downing the last potion.

"How about I just not give you any potions and let you suffer?" retorted Madam Pomfrey. Harry quickly shut his mouth and Madam Pomfrey smirked at him. "That's what I thought," she said, while Fred and George snickered. "Now, I'm going to have to keep you overnight for observation, but you should be fine to return to your classes tomorrow morning."

Harry groaned and lay back on his bed, his eyes looking up to the white ceiling of the hospital wing.

"This has got to be my least favourite place in Hogwarts," he muttered.

"Then stop trying to get yourself killed and you won't be here so often," snapped Madam Pomfrey as she walked back into her office. Ron, Ginny and the twins roared with laughter as they said their farewells to Harry, promising to come collect him in the morning. Hermione gave Harry one last look before following the Weasleys, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.

Umbridge was out to get him, there was no doubt about that, Harry surmised. And in the process, she was bringing the whole school down to break him, destroying students' chances at successful careers after they graduated from Hogwarts and ruining their chances of survival for when Voldemort openly declared himself to the world. Harry had to do something, but didn't know what, and with those thoughts, he drifted off to sleep.

oOoOoOo

As promised, Ron and Hermione came to the hospital wing to pick Harry up the next morning. As they sat down for breakfast in the Great Hall, Harry told them about his assumptions of Umbridge.

"Well anyone could have told you that," said Hermione as she grabbed some toast. "But I think she has other reasons for why she's trying to stop us from learning proper defensive magic."

"Wha' tha'?" said Ron through a mouthful of sausages.

"Isn't it obvious? The Ministry thinks Dumbledore is trying to train the students so that he can take over," said Hermione, glaring at Ron's lack of manners.

"That's ridiculous!" yelled Harry, attracting the attention of people around the Hall.

"Shush!" hissed Hermione. "I never said it wasn't ridiculous, but that is honestly what they think."

"What are we going to do about it then?" said Harry, his eyebrows creasing together.

"Nothing in public," said Hermione, sharing a glance with Ron. "But, Ron and I were talking about this last night and we thought that maybe we should start up our own defensive classes without Umbridge knowing."

Harry almost choked on the sausage he was eating and spat it out. "What?" he spluttered, wiping his face with a napkin.

"Oh, come on mate! It's a good idea!" said Ron.

"I never said it wasn't. But how are you going to recruit anyone? Where would you have the lessons? Who would teach?" asked Harry.

"Well, we were hoping you would teach us," said Ron slowly.

Harry only stared at Ron and Hermione like they had grown another head.

"Me? Why?" Harry said incredulously.

"Because you know what it's like to fight the Dark Arts and monsters better than anyone else here who isn't a teacher," said Hermione.

"Yeah, you've fought You-Know-Who three times and beaten him!" added Ron.

"I didn't beat him! I'm only alive because of pure luck!" argued Harry.

"Regardless, you're the best qualified person for the job," said Hermione, an almost pleading look in her eyes.

"I don't even know how to teach," grumbled Harry.

"That's why we're here, to help you," encouraged Ron.

Harry thought for a moment. He really was the only person in the school who wasn't a teacher that had gone up against the Dark Arts and survived on more than one occasion. But could he teach those skills to other kids, to help them pass their exams and survive the war that was brewing on the horizon?

"I'll think about it," Harry said finally. "But you're responsible for finding anyone interested and to find a location where we can meet up."

Ron and Hermione shared relieved looks.

"We've got Defence," said Hermione, grabbing her school bag.

"I'm not going," said Harry, remaining seated.

"Why not?"

"I'm pretty sure I'll eat Umbridge the second she walks into the room."

Ron snorted but Hermione looked annoyed, but she didn't push it. Harry separated from his friends and walked back up to the Gryffindor common room by himself, passing several students on their way out.

He spotted Katie, Alicia and Angelina sitting in a corner by themselves studying, and Harry tried to avoid them, but stopped and groaned when he heard Angelina call his name.

"Yes, Johnson?" said Harry as he turned around to look at the tall seventh year.

"I just wanted to apologise for what I said last night," said Angelina quickly, though she looked genuinely ashamed. "I've just been under a lot of stress, what with Quidditch and N.E.W.T's, but that's still no excuse."

"It's fine, really," said Harry, accepting her apology. "And no, I won't quit the team," he added.

Angelina's face lit up and she gave Harry a fierce hug, much to his surprise. Angelina let go of Harry and sighed heavily.

"If you'll excuse me, I've got some homework to take care of," she said.

"On what?" asked Harry, feeling curious.

"Defence," grumbled Angelina as Harry followed her over to where Alicia and Katie were sitting.

"Hi Harry," said Katie and Alicia.

"Hey," he said, sitting down next to Katie and looking at the three girls' work. "You working on Defence too?" he asked Katie.

"Yeah," she sighed. "We're supposed to be learning non-verbal spells, but it's impossible when you're not even allowed to cast any spells."

"I thought it would be easier," said Harry. The three Chasers gave Harry a quizzical look, so he continued. "Well, if you're not allowed to cast spells in class, do them in your mind, that way Umbridge won't know. And if you manage to cast the spell non-verbally, you won't get in trouble because Umbridge won't know who cast the spell."

Katie looked at Harry in surprise. "I didn't think of it like that, thanks!" she said warmly, flashing Harry a smile which he returned.

"What are you two trying to learn under Umbridge's wise teachings?" Harry joked to Alicia and Angelina.

"The Patronus Charm," groaned Alicia.

"We're supposed to write an essay on its uses and how to cast it, but like Katie said, it's impossible to do when you're not allowed to use magic," added Angelina.

"Wait. Harry, you know how to cast the Patronus Charm right?" said Katie suddenly.

Harry shrunk internally under the stares of the three very attractive older girls. "Y-yeah," he mumbled.

"Great! Maybe you can teach us?" said Alicia, giving Harry a hopeful look.

"I guess," said Harry. He squirmed in his seat a little and leaned forward, inspecting the seventh years' essay.

"Umbridge didn't teach you anything, did she?" he said after reading through both girls' essays.

"Not just that, but the textbook we've got is bloody useless!" growled Angelina.

"I doubt Umbridge herself can cast the Patronus Charm," said Harry. He pointed at a paragraph in Alicia's essay. "You got this wrong. A corporeal Patronus doesn't take the form of your favourite animal, instead it becomes the form of either the animal that best represents your personality or that you most identify as your personal guardian," he explained. "If it was your favourite animal, then my Patronus wouldn't have a form cause I don't have a favourite animal."

"What does your Patronus look like then?" asked Alicia curiously.

"A stag," said Harry. "My father's Animagus form was a stag, and my whole life I always thought that my dad was watching over me, so my Patronus looks exactly like his Animagus form."

"Whoa," said Katie, while Angelina whistled.

"Can you show us?" asked Alicia excitedly.

"Sure," replied Harry. He extracted his wand from his pocket and closed his eyes, thinking of the time Sirius asked Harry to live with him. _"Expecto Patronum!"_ he yelled, and the silvery-white form of Prongs sprang from the tip of his wand, exciting the older girls and eliciting gasps from the other Gryffindors in the common room.

Harry himself was surprised, as he noticed that the outline of Prongs was glowing a faint gold, and looked even more solid than the last time he used the Charm back in the summer against the dementors. Prongs cantered over to Harry and bowed its crowned head. Harry petted the stag's snout appreciatively while the girls next to him murmured excitedly to each other. Releasing his happy memory, Prongs vanished in a wisp of silvery white smoke.

"Wow! That was amazing!" said Katie, which was met with murmurs of agreement by Alicia and Angelina.

"I didn't think you could even touch a Patronus, even in corporeal form," commented Angelina.

"Me neither," admitted Harry. "But I've never done things half way have I?"

The girls laughed out loud. "I guess not," agreed Alicia.

"Hey, shouldn't you be in class?" Katie asked suddenly.

"Yeah, but it's Defence, so I'm not bothering to go that much any more," said Harry with a casual shrug. The girls fell silent after that.

"How did you make your Patronus so bright?" asked Angelina, trying to turn the conversation back tot he subject at hand.

"I used a really happy memory," said Harry. "But when you're trying to cast the spell, I've learned that's it's not a good memory alone that fuels the Charm. You have to mainly focus on the emotions you felt while replaying that memory, and the stronger the emotion, the more powerful the Patronus is. It doesn't even have to be a memory either, you just also focus on something you imagine as long as it brings strong, positive emotions, and it should still work."

Alicia and Angelina were jotting down Harry's words furiously on their parchment as they listened to his explanation.

"What memory did you use? If you don't mind me asking," said Katie.

"When my godfather asked me to come live with him," said Harry, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. The seventh year girls looked at him curiously, but Katie gave him an understanding look.

"Thanks Harry. We'd probably fail this assignment if it weren't for you," said Alicia.

"You know, you're really good at this," complimented Angelina.

"Good at what?" said Harry.

"Teaching this sort of thing, Defence I mean," she elaborated. Alicia and Katie nodded their heads while Harry ducked his head, feeling embarrassed at the praise he was being given.

"You certainly do a lot better job at it than Umbitch," added Katie, using Harry's nickname of the pink-clad toad.

"That's not that much of a compliment," argued Harry. Katie only laughed.

"Whatever. But I mean it, you really are good at this," Katie said earnestly, her dark brown eyes locking with Harry's green.

Suddenly the memory of his conversation with Ron and Hermione sprung to the forefront of Harry's mind.

"You know, Hermione came up with an idea this morning. She wants to create a proper Defence club," said Harry. All three girls looked at Harry with interest. Coughing slightly, Harry continued. "I mean, we don't know where we're going to meet up or who's going to teach us yet, but it's just an idea that Hermione thought up."

"That actually sounds like a really good idea," said Angelina.

"Who's going to teach us?" asked Katie.

"Er... Hermione wants me to teach," said Harry quietly.

"Good, that means we'll actually be learning something," said Alicia.

"I haven't agreed to do it yet!" said Harry loudly.

"But you better be teaching. If what you just taught us is anything to go by, I don't see anyone more suited to it," argued Katie.

"Fine, I'll think about it, but I reckon Hermione would do a better job at it," mumbled Harry.

"No offence to Hermione, but she makes things too technical for us inferior minds to understand," said Angelina.

"Yeah, you taught us really simply and made it easier to understand," agreed Alicia.

"Plus you've had way more experience with this sort of thing, if the stories are true," added Katie.

"Alright, I get it," conceded Harry. Was he really that good of a teacher, if three older girls thought so?"

"How many people do you know are willing to join?" asked Katie.

"Er... I'm not sure. I think you three are the only ones we've talked to about it," admitted Harry.

"Well, we can help you there," said Angelina. "Being around for longer and having a fair number of friends in the other houses, I think the girls and I, plus Fred, George and Lee can help spread the word."

"Really? You'd do that?" said Harry, a glimmer of hope sparking in his heart.

"Of course we would," said Alicia earnestly. "But we won't tell anyone that you're the teacher, what with you not being the most popular person in the school at the moment."

"Although just Harry being the teacher might be incentive enough to join. I'm sure a lot of people would like to see him in action, just so they can see if the stories are true," said Katie.

"Okay, okay fine," said Harry. "Thanks a lot guys, Hermione's gonna be ecstatic when I tell her."

"Any time," said Angelina.

"Do you know when and where we can meet?" asked Katie.

Harry shook his head.

"Well, there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up in a few weeks, that would be a good cover for a large group of students to meet up," suggested Alicia.

"That's brilliant!" exclaimed Harry. "But it can't be somewhere public like the Three Broomsticks, too many people there."

"What about the Hog's Head? Hardly anyone goes there," said Katie.

"Where's the Hog's Head?" asked Harry.

"It's on the outskirts of town," said Angelina. "I know that that's where Fred and George go to make deals to get some of their supplies for their pranks."

"Is it safe?"

"No," Katie said simply. "But like I said before, hardly anyone goes there so we wouldn't be caught."

"Okay, that sounds good. I'll tell Hermione and she can organize a time to meet up there," said Harry. He checked his watch and saw that it was almost time for the next class and he stood up, grabbing his bag. "I'll see you girls later," he said waving out to the girls.

"Bye Harry," they replied.

oOoOoOo

To say that Hermione was ecstatic when Harry told her of his conversation with the Gryffindor Chasers was an understatement. She was practically bouncing up and down as he told her of the proposed location and time for the meet up, and the Chasers' volunteering to look for recruits.

"Oh, Harry! Now I'm glad you ditched Defence today!" she said excitedly during lunch. Ron choked on his pumpkin juice and coughed loudly, while Harry looked at their bushy-haired friend in shock.

"Did she say what I think she said?" said Harry.

"I think I've died and gone to heaven," said Ron dramatically.

"Hermione Granger, endorsing class ditching. I never thought I'd live to see the day," joked Harry, sniggering along with Ron.

"Oh shut up you two," huffed Hermione. "Besides, Defence shouldn't even be considered an actual class anymore. By the way, have you considered being the club's teacher?" she said in a more quiet voice.

"Um, yeah I have actually," said Harry. "Katie, Angelina and Alicia said that they'd only agree if I was teaching, and they reckon others will feel the same way."

"So you'll teach?"

"I didn't say that," said Harry, "besides, we don't even know if this thing will fly."

"It will," said Hermione with certainty. "It has to."

"I hope so."

Later in the week, Katie came up to sit with Harry as he was ditching Defence yet again.

"I've got some names," was the first thing she said to Harry as she unslung her bag from her shoulder.

"Oh?" said Harry, looking up from his homework.

"Yeah, so far we've got Ernie MacMillan, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Zacharias Smith from Hufflepuff, Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe and Lisa Turpin from Ravenclaw. Fred, George and Lee are also keen, and I think Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis from Slytherin are interested as well."

"Slytherin?" said Harry a little skeptically. "Aren't you worried they might rat us out?"

"Not really," said Katie with a shrug. "We gave them some pretty good reasons to at least come along and have a look."

"Which were?" Harry pressed.

"Oh, we have a useless teacher, we're not learning anything, we have OWL's and NEWT's coming up, that sort of thing," said Katie.

Harry frowned, but conceded the point. He was a little skeptical of Cho Chang joining, seeing as she'd been trying to get his attention for weeks now.

"What about on your end?" asked Katie.

"Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, Dean Thomas, the Creevey brothers and a couple third years. I think Ginny said she'd try to bring her boyfriend, Michael Corner, along as well," said Harry.

"Well that's not too bad of a turnout then," said Katie hopefully.

"That's if they decide to show up," deadpanned Harry. "Hermione's been working on some charm for us to communicate secretly to organize meetings and whatnot. I mean, it's not like we can put up a poster on the noticeboard. ' _Having trouble passing Defence exams? OWL's or NEWT's coming up? Think Umbridge is a useless toad who can't teach a chicken to lay an egg? Come join Potter's Defence Club! Where you'll learn to duel like an Auror!'"_ he joked in an impersonation of a radio announcer speaking in an ad.

Katie giggled next to Harry, then started outright laughing. Harry, unable to stop himself, joined in too and soon the two were trying to hold each other up, wiping tears from their eyes.

"Oh, Harry, that would be hilarious!" laughed Katie, clutching her stomach as she got stitches.

"Can you imagine Umbridge's face if she saw that?" said Harry mirthfully.

"Oh! Her big fat eyes would pop out of their sockets!"

The two burst into laughter again and were leaning against each other as they tried to control their laughter.

"Sounds like you two are having fun," said a voice behind them.

Harry and Katie quickly stopped laughing and turned in their couch to see a grinning Fred and George.

"Oh, don't let us stop you from having fun! We were just passing through," said George, grinning like the cat that caught the proverbial canary.

"We'll just be on our way," said Fred all-too-innocently. The two twins left, giving Harry sly winks as they walked past.

 _What?_ thought Harry. At that moment he realised that he was still leaning against Katie and he quickly drew away, blushing furiously. Katie too was blushing, but Harry doubted as much as he was.

"Er... right. So..." said Harry awkwardly.

"Yeah..." said Katie quietly.

The two friends continued working on their assignments quietly after that, though Harry had to wonder what just happened, and why Fred and George had smiled at him like that.

 _A/N- I know that Umbridge can cast a Patronus, but Harry doesn't know that seeing as she didn't cast one until the Deathly Hallows._

 _Also a little bit of fluff for our main pairing and the beginning of the DA! I look forward to your reviews!_


	13. Chapter 13- Recruiting the Soldiers

**Chapter 13- Recruiting the Soldiers**

"Remind me why we're doing this again?" complained Harry.

The end of October had brought an early snowstorm, covering the Hogwarts grounds and castle in a fine, yet thick layer of snow and ice, and the students from third year and up were trudging through the snow-covered path into Hogsmeade with some difficulty.

"Because Harry, it's the Hogsmeade weekend and we've got a Defence club meeting to attend and run," said Hermione with no small hint of annoyance in her tone.

"Yeah, but walking through this snow is so hard!" argued Harry.

"I don't know why you're complaining, you have super strength!" said Ron.

"Yeah, but it's still hard," Harry deadpanned.

"Oh, stop being such a baby and get over it," snapped Hermione.

"Wish Hagrid would hurry up and get back so he can plow the paths," Harry grumbled under his breath.

Unlike the rest of the students, Harry, Ron and Hermione ignored the various shops on either side of the main road and headed towards the dirty inn on the far side of the village. Harry and Ron looked longingly at the Honeyduke's sweet shop, and Hermione was forced to push the two boys forward because they had slowed down to peek through the store's windows.

The Hog's Head was really dirty, Harry noted as they walked into the dingy inn, and reeked of goats. Indeed, there was an old, grey billy goat munching on some hay in the corner. The bar was mostly abandoned, except for the bartender who was cleaning a glass mug with a dirty rag and an old witch wearing a hood and was blowing smoke rings.

"Lovely place," commented Ron.

"It's not much, but at least nobody will suspect us," said Hermione, ignoring Ron's obvious sarcasm.

"So what are we supposed to be doing for the next hour and a half?" said Harry, checking his watch.

"We'll go back into town and get what we need then come back when it's close to the time," answered Hermione, leading the boys out of the bar back onto the streets.

Harry and Ron made a beeline for Honeyduke's, dragging Hermione along with them. They stacked up on Chocolate Frogs, Sugar Quills, Every Flavour Beans and various other assortments of sweets before Hermione dragged them over to the book store to get some more school supplies, as well as some books that Hermione claimed would be useful for learning new defensive spells.

They made a quick stop at The Three Broomsticks, where they ordered three mugs of warm Butterbeer and said hello to some of their fellow students who they knew were coming. Ernie MacMillan, being his usual pompous self, declared he and his family's open belief and support of Harry and Dumbledore and expressed his desire to help in any way he could. Neville and Luna Lovegood sat down at their table next, and the five began chatting away happily about school life, though Harry could see that Luna's outrageous theories were beginning to grate on Hermione's nerves.

"It's time," declared Hermione, and she and the rest stood up and walked out of the cozy bar back to the Hog's Head.

As they got closer to the rundown bar, Harry's nerves were starting to pick up. What was he supposed to say or do? Was Hermione going to do all the talking? Would anyone even listen to what he had to say? He looked behind him and saw other students, whose features he couldn't identify properly, following his small group.

They walked into the bar and Harry saw the bartender cleaning what he guessed was the same mug with the same dirty rag, along with the hooded witch blowing smoke rings with her pipe. Hermione led Harry and Ron over to a table and sat down, and Neville and Luna sat down at another table. The front door opened and in walked Ginny with her boyfriend Michael Corner, who if Harry remembered correctly was in Ravenclaw. He was a little surprised that Ginny was dating him because from what Harry remembered of the boy, Michael was pretty self-obsessed, but not nearly as much as Malfoy.

Fred, George, the Gryffindor Chasers and Lee Jordan walked in next, followed by Cho Chang and her friend Marietta. Then came Ernie and his Hufflepuff friends Justin Finch-Fletchley, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott and Zacharias Smith, along with Dean Thomas. Lisa Turpin walked in by herself, but she was followed by Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis.

Greengrass was a stunningly beautiful girl with hair that was a similar colour to Malfoy's, but with slightly more colour to it. Tracey had golden blonde hair and was a little more curvier than Daphne, but still very attractive. From Harry's limited information on the two Slytherin girls, they weren't as into the whole Pureblooded bias as the rest of their House, but their families had sat on the sidelines during the first war against Voldemort. Harry noticed several of the people gathered glaring in the direction of the two Slytherin girls, mostly from the gathered Gryffindors, so Harry decided to make a point and smiled widely at Daphne and Tracey.

Colin Creevey and his brother Dennis were the last two to arrive.

"They all came," whispered Hermione from beside Harry. He noticed that Ron and Hermione had adjusted their seats so that they were on either side of him, making a point of Harry being the leader of the three.

 _Gits,_ Harry thought to himself.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Um... welcome everyone," she said loudly, drawing everyone's attention to the three fifth-years seated before them. "Welcome, and thanks for coming. Er... as you may already know, we're here because we want to learn to defend ourselves properly, because Umbridge and the Ministry of Magic don't think we need to."

"Why's he here?" said Zacharias Smith, pointing to Harry.

"Same reason you are, I guess," said Harry, looking his best to appear bored.

"Yes, well, Professor Umbridge isn't a very good teacher-" said Hermione.

"She's bloody terrible!" yelled someone from the back, which earned murmurs of assent among the gathered students.

"Well that's one way to put it," mumbled Ron, making Harry smirk.

"And we have to be well prepared for out upcoming OWL's and NEWT's," finished Hermione. "And there is also a new threat on the horizon-"

"Why?" interrupted Zacharias Smith.

"Why? Because You-Know-Who's back you tosspot!" snapped Ron.

"Who said?" Daphne Greengrass asked.

"Dumbledore said-" began Hermione.

"Because he said!" interrupted Smith yet again, gesturing to Harry. "The point is, where's the proof?"

Harry decided right there and then that he didn't like Zacharias Smith at all.

"Look, we're not here to interrogate Harry on his life, we're here because we need a proper Defence instructor," said Hermione, her voice shaking slightly as she tried to reign in her annoyance.

"And who's that going to be?" asked Cho Chang.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Luna, looking around the room. When nobody answered she continued, "It's obviously Harry."

Smith snorted in disbelief, while others looked surprised.

"Thank you Luna," said Hermione. "Yes, Harry has agreed to be our Defence instructor."

"No I didn't," mumbled Harry, earning a poke in the ribs from Ron.

"Why is he the best qualified for the job?" said Smith.

"Because he's the best in our year, and has the highest grades in Defence in nearly twenty years," answered Hermione.

Harry's eyes widened. He did?

"Plus all those stories that have been circulating around the school about him," said Angelina.

"Doubt they're true," muttered Smith, but others heard him.

"Like you could do any better Smith. You've got one of the lowest marks in Defence last year," snapped Susan Bones.

Arguments soon broke out around the group, and Hermione struggled to bring the meeting to order. Finally Harry had enough and he slammed his fist against the table hard, bringing everyone's attention back.

'Look, if you're all only here to argue about the authenticity of my life then you might as well clear out now!" he snapped, glaring angrily at everyone. He stood up and grabbed his jacket. "Come on Hermione, nobody's interested in actually learning anything, this is all just a waste of time."

"Harry-"

"Is it true you can cast a Patronus Charm?" asked Luna in her dreamy voice. Everyone perked up at that and looked at Harry curiously.

"Yes," said Hermione, "he's very good at it too."

"Blimey Harry. I didn't know you could do that!" exclaimed Dean Thomas.

"And in our second year, he killed the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets with Gryffindor's sword!" said Neville, his voice shaking slightly.

"It's true, I was with him," said Ginny from towards the back.

"And two years ago he fought off over a hundred dementors at once," said Ron, his voice picking up with excitement.

"We saw his Patronus a couple weeks ago," said Katie. "It was really beautiful!"

Angelina and Alicia nodded their heads in agreement, and more people started murmuring amongst themselves.

"Don't forget the whole thing with the Philosopher's Stone!" called out Fred.

"And last year he really did fight You-Know-Who and survived," said Hermione. "Which is why we need him to teach us."

The murmuring only got louder and Harry was starting to get annoyed. He shot Hermione an angry look, which she ignored and Harry stood up again.

"Hey! All those things that happened, they weren't some great tale like you're all making them out to be!" he said loudly, effectively cutting off the mutterings. "Ginny, you can attest yourself that the Chamber of Secrets was one of the scariest moments of our lives!"

Ginny visibly paled at the reminder of what she went through in her first year, but she nodded her head.

"And I didn't make it out of those situations through some great skill or experience that you all think I have," continued Harry, sounding a little more subdued now. "Most of the time I didn't know what I was doing and I only survived through sheer luck or outside intervention.

"Last year, in the graveyard where I saw Voldemort come back, I honestly thought I was going to die. I'd already watched his servant murder Cedric right in front of me and I thought for sure I was next. I only made it out of there because Voldemort was too arrogant and he underestimated me, not to mention I was saved by some monster that decided to wreak havoc among the Death Eaters that had gathered.

"The point I'm trying to make," stressed Harry, "is that you can learn all you want in school and play it safe, but when you're out there trying to save your own hide, or watching a friend die right before your eyes, it doesn't matter in the end what you learn unless you can keep your head cool, because one mistake could be the difference between living and dying."

The bar had fallen completely silent by the end of Harry's speech, and everyone was watching him intently. The bartender was no longer there, and the witch had stopped smoking her pipe.

"He's really back, isn't he?" said Susan Bones quietly.

Harry nodded his head slowly, not really feeling like talking anymore.

"That's why we need you to teach us," said Hermione. "Because you're the only one with that experience to pass on to us. Because if you don't, then none of us stand a chance against You... V... V-Voldemort."

Harry looked up and silently thanked his best friend for being brave enough to speak Voldemort's name, despite the stutter.

"Now, we need to set up a curriculum course for us to follow, based on what we're meant to be learning," continued Hermione, getting back to business. "And we also need to set up a schedule for lessons, as well as find a suitable location where we can have our meetings."

"What about a name for our club?" suggested Katie. "I'm thinking 'Potter's Defence Club.' Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"NO!" shouted Harry. "Absolutely not!" he said, sending Katie his fiercest glare. The brunette only smirked and winked at Harry in response, making him blush in embarrassment.

"What about the Defence Association? Or DA for short?" said Cho.

"That doesn't sound too bad," said Ron.

"Wait, if we're doing this because we want to fight against Umbridge and the Ministry, we should name ourselves after something they all hate," said Ginny.

"I swear, if you say Potter's Association..." warned Harry.

"I wasn't going to. Instead I think we should keep the DA but change it into something that'd really stick it to the Ministry. I'm thinking 'Dumbledore's Army.'"

"Has a nice ring to it," said Hermione.

Even Harry had to agree with that.

"All those in favour of Dumbledore's Army?" said Ron, raising his hand. Almost everyone raised their hands in affirmation, and thus Dumbledore's Army was formed.

"Now, we need to set up a schedule..." began Hermione.

"Can't be during Quidditch practice," Angelina said quickly.

"I think this is a little more important than Quidditch," said Hermione in an exasperated tone.

"No, Angelina's right," said Harry. "Our normal schedules can't change or Umbridge will get suspicious."

"So we'll have to meet at irregular times to suit everyone?" said Hermione. Everyone murmured their assent.

"Okay. Well, if that's all, I've brought a piece of parchment for all of you to sign if you agree to join. It's a magical contract that makes sure you don't talk to anyone except for those whose names are signed on to keep our meetings a secret, and if you do talk well, let's just say you won't like what happens," said Hermione.

Harry, along with most of the people gathered, looked at Hermione in surprise. Magical contracts, especially working magical contracts, were extremely difficult to make, and was supposed to be impossible for a fifth-year to even try.

"I've also got these galleons for anyone who signs the contract, which has a modified Protean Charm. These will be used to communicate to each other, and the date on the coin will change to the time and date of our next meeting."

Neville, Luna and Ginny were the first to sign up, quickly followed by Katie, Cho and the twins. Harry was surprised to see that everyone who attended the meeting signed Hermione's contract and given a Galleon. Even Daphne and Tracey signed up.

Once everybody had left, Harry walked over to the bar and dropped a few Galleons on the bench. "You didn't see any of this," he said to the bartender.

"I don't need your bloody gold to keep quiet," snapped the old man.

Shrugging, Harry collected the Galleons and put them in his pocket before following Ron and Hermione out of the Hog's Head. Once outside, Harry noticed Katie standing by herself, looking at Harry expectantly.

"Where's Angie and Alicia?" said Harry. peering over Katie's head.

"Oh, they went off with Fred and George on a double-date or something like that," said Katie. "I was wondering if I could hang out with you three, if you don't mind?"

Hermione looked like she was going to protest, but Harry cut her off. "Of course!" he said, smiling. "You're welcome to join us."

"Thanks Harry," said Katie beaming at him. The four walked back into the centre of Hogsmeade and had a look through the windows of some of the stores.

"I think I might check out Quality Quidditch Supplies, I need some new gloves," said Harry.

"What's wrong with your current ones?" said Ron.

"They got shredded when I... you know," Harry said quietly.

Comprehension dawned on the other three's faces and they nodded their heads in understanding.

"I think you might need a whole new wardrobe," joked Katie. She grabbed him by the hand and led Harry over to the shop, saying "Come on, I'll help you pick something out."

"Wait for us!" called out Ron.

"Actually, Ron and I have to finish sorting out some stuff for the Da," said Hermione, pulling Ron in the other direction.

"No we don't- hey!" yelled Ron when Hermione elbowed him in the ribs.

Hermione gave Harry an odd look before leading Ron away, leaving Harry and Katie by themselves as they continued over to the Quidditch shop. The door jingled slightly, signaling that new customers had arrived, and Katie led Harry over to the pads and gloves aisle.

"Here, try these on," said Katie, handing Harry a pair of black dragon hide fingerless gloves.

Harry complied and slipped them on, and was surprised when they fit him perfectly.

"Do they have a Resizing Charm on them or something?" he asked.

"Yep! So you'll never grow out of them and have to get new ones, unless of course you destroy them," said Katie.

Harry chuckled lightly and tried on some elbow and knee pads of the same black colour as the gloves. He saw Katie eyeing a set of Chaser's gloves and walked over to her.

"Do you need a new pair?" he asked, pointing to the gloves Katie was looking at.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I do but I can't afford any at the moment. But I reckon that my current pair should last me till the end of the year," said Katie, sighing slightly in disappointment.

"What if I buy them for you?" suggested Harry.

Katie's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh no, you don't have to do that! It's fine really," she said earnestly.

"Come on, let me buy them," urged Harry. "Think of them as a sort of 'thank you' present"

"Thank you? For what?"

"For helping choose these awesome new gloves and pads, and for inviting so many people along to the DA meeting," said Harry seriously.

"Oh," was all Katie said.

"And I also have more money than I need," Harry added.

"Oh, well I certainly can't pass up the offer now, can I?" remarked Katie sarcastically. "Fine! You can buy me those gloves, but I'm buying you a Butterbeer, okay?"

"Sounds like a good deal to me," said Harry, smiling brightly.

He brought his and Katie's new supplies over to the counter and paid for them. He thanked the assistant and the two left the store, heading to The Three Broomsticks. Harry opened the door for Katie and let her inside first, but was forced to leave it open when a group of third-years, a sixth-year Ravenclaw couple, a drunk goblin and a herd of elderly witches took advantage of the opportunity Harry had given them. Harry glanced over at Katie with an exasperated look, and saw that she was giggling at his predicament.

Finally, when the last of the witches (slowly) exited, Harry was free to close the door and follow Katie inside, where they grabbed a table for just the two of them. Katie went over to the bar to order the Butterbeers, leaving Harry by himself for a few moments. Harry glanced around the room, taking note of the students and teachers in the bar. Over by the bar sat Professors McGonagall and Sprout, who were deep in hushed conversation. Not far from them was Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas with Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. Ernie MacMillan was waving at Harry from the other side of the bar, and Harry responded with a two fingered salute. In a far corner Harry spotted Fred and George snuggling up to Angelina and Alicia respectively, seemingly lost in their own little worlds.

"You saw that too, huh?" said a voice Harry was becoming very familiar with.

He looked and saw that Katie had returned, carrying two large mugs of warm Butterbeer and had been eyeing the seventh-years as well.

"Have they always been like that?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, and it was nice to see at first, but after a while it's just gotten annoying," said Katie distastefully.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's great to see your best friends fall in love and all, but when you're constantly pushed aside because of it..." Katie trailed off.

"I'm sorry," was all Harry could think of saying.

"Not your fault," replied Katie with a shrug as she took a swig of her Butterbeer.

"What about Lee?" asked Harry.

"Oh, he's a good friend and all, but he and I have never gotten along as well compared to the others," said Katie. "Plus, he has a reputation of being a bit of a ladies' man."

"Oh, well that's unfortunate," said Harry.

"Yeah, and I'd rather not add myself onto his list of conquests."

"He's still a good commentator though," Harry supplied.

Katie actually laughed at that. "I can't argue with that."

The two fell into comfortable silence, sipping from their Butterbeers as they watched the various groups chatting away with friends and colleagues.

"What about you? You got a love life?" Katie asked suddenly.

"Huh? Oh, no. No I don't," said Harry. Katie looked surprised at that.

"Really? I thought that they'd be all over you, being the Boy-Who-Lived and all," she said.

"Not when they all think you're a raving madman."

"True."

"Well, I think Cho Chang's been trying to come on to me since school started, but it's hard to look at her and not see Cedric," continued Harry.

"It must be hard to live with that," said Katie, her voice dropping slightly. "I don't know how you do it."

"I'm not so sure about that."

Katie gave him a quizzical look. "Why do you think that?"

Harry glanced around the room and made sure nobody was looking before he leaned forward and said, "I've been having nightmares about his death pretty much every night since the summer, and I'm seeing weird things that make no sense."

Katie didn't gasp, she didn't didn't run away crying, she didn't stand up in front of everyone and laugh at him and call Harry a baby or a freak. Instead, she leaned forward, took Harry's hand in her's, looked him in the eyes and said, "It's natural to be dreaming about his death, Harry. I think Muggles call it post-traumatic stress disorder. It's when someone goes through an experience that causes lasting damage later on. But I've heard eventually it goes away, it's still a little early for you to simply forget about it."

Harry sat there stunned as Katie's eyes bore into his, expressing the concern and care she felt for him. It was quite a new experience for Harry still, having been raised by people who didn't care about him and made him feel worthless, so he was often still surprised when someone cared for his wellbeing.

"I-er... thanks," stammered Harry, looking down at the wooden table. Katie let go of his hand and smiled.

"You're welcome Harry."

"How about you? You still seeing Oliver?" Harry asked in an attempt to change the subject.

Katie's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open before she started laughing. "Oh, Oliver and I were never a thing. That was a rumour started by Fred and George back in my fourth year as a prank on Oliver to get him to concentrate on something other than Quidditch."

"I take it that it didn't work?" asked Harry, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, it worked a little too well I think," said Katie, a wistful smile on her face. "They slipped Oliver a love potion and he ended up declaring his undying love for me in front of the entire Gryffindor House. It was _so_ embarrassing!" she laughed.

Harry laughed as well. "I don't think I was there for that," he said.

"You weren't. I think you were off on one of your adventures at the time," said Katie. Then her eyes widened and she blushed slightly. "I mean, not that I notice whenever you disappear, it's just that-"

"It's okay, I get it," said Harry.

"You do?"

"Yeah of course. I think everyone's realised by now that if I'm not around, I'm probably off trying to stop some evil plot or whatever," said Harry.

"Probably," teased Katie.

The two smiled at each other and finished their drinks, then decided to head back up to the castle seeing as it was getting late. Harry and Katie talked happily to each other about anything and everything, how they were doing at school, what they were expecting from Slytherin in the upcoming Quidditch match, what Harry planned to teach for the DA, wondering if Sirius and Mrs Weasley had killed each other yet, being stuck in the same house as each other for so long. Thankfully, they stayed away from any topics that would darken the bright mood the two had created.

But of course, somebody had to ruin the mood. And that someone came in the form of a drawling voice that exuded arrogance.

"Oi, Potter! Isn't she a little out of your league?" called out Draco Malfoy, being followed by Crabbe and Goyle, along with Pansy Parkinson.

Harry sighed and turned around to face his arch-rival. "Maybe, but she sure is a hell of a lot better than old pig face snorting behind you," he replied calmly, despite feeling anything but.

Pansy shrieked in rage at the insult and drew her wand but Harry continued.

"Oh, I wasn't talking about you, Pansy. I was referring to Crabbe. I didn't know that you swung that way, Malfoy. But looking back I should have seen it all along."

Crabbe didn't even seem to have enough brain cells to realise that Harry was making fun of him as he just stared at Harry stupidly. Katie, on the other hand, was shaking with suppressed laughter as her hands covered her mouth and Harry grinned at her.

"Why you little..." snarled Malfoy and he motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to grab Harry and Katie.

Harry stepped in front of the pretty brunette and raised his fists in a defensive position. When Goyle came closer, Harry jabbed his right fist forward with blinding speed, punching the brute right between the eyes. Goyle's head snapped back and he was flung backwards into the air, landing in a crumpled heap before Malfoy's feet.

Crabbe tried to grab Harry, but he dodged out of the way and tackled the much larger Slytherin into the snow-covered ground. He quickly knocked Crabbe out with a punch and drew his wand, pointing it at Malfoy and Pansy.

"Don't even think about it," Harry said in a deadly quiet voice. He stood up from Crabbe's unconscious form and slowly backed away to where Katie was standing and the two walked back to the castle, his wand staying locked on to the remaining Slytherins. When they lost sight of them, Harry stowed his wand away back in his pocket and grabbed Katie's hand, picking up the pace. He was fuming and shaking uncontrollably by the time they had gotten back to the castle, but Katie removed her hand from his and was rubbing his back gently, whispering soothing words of comfort until Harry's breathing slowed and he was able to calm himself.

"You didn't have to do that," said Katie.

"Do what?" asked Harry, feeling a little confused now that the anger had ebbed away.

"Defend me. I can take care of myself."

Comprehension dawned on Harry's face and he grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, but it's been a while since I've been able to take my anger out on something, and they just happened to volunteer themselves," said Harry.

"Well, as fun as it was watching you act as my knight in shining armour and kick Crabbe and Goyle's asses, I think I would have enjoyed it better if I was the one doing the beating," said Katie lightly. Harry grinned and playfully bumped her shoulder with his.

"Forgive me, milady. But if you wish to do the ass-kicking next time, I will be happy to step aside," said Harry, bowing to Katie.

Katie giggled and ruffled Harry's hair, something which Harry found he didn't mind so long as it was Katie doing it.

"Sounds like dinner's ready," said Katie, hearing the chatter coming from inside the Great Hall. Indeed, Harry had smelt the delicious food the moment they had walked into the castle, but had been too angry to think about it.

"You want to take our stuff up to the common room then come back?" asked Harry.

"Sure," agreed Katie, and the two ran up to the Gryffindor common room, dumped their stuff in their dormitories and raced back down to the Great Hall together. Harry groaned when he saw many pairs of eyes turn in their direction, watching he and Katie with mixed emotions. _Great, more rumours to add to my messed up life,_ Harry groaned internally as he and Katie sat down opposite Ron and Hermione.

"You're back late," commented Hermione, giving Harry a curious look.

Harry shared a look with Katie and grinned. "We got held up," he said offhandedly, helping himself to several chicken drumsticks.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that Crabbe and Goyle are mysteriously in the hospital wing?" said Hermione, her eyes now narrowing suspiciously.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Harry.

"See? I told you they were fine," joined in Ron. "They were probably off having a-"

"don't you dare finish that sentence, Ronald!"

Harry looked at Katie, who merely shrugged in confusion and started eating her dinner.

 _What is going on?_ thought Harry as he dug into his food.

Underneath an invisibility cloak, Dillon Adams grinned at his protege.

 _A/N- Just a small shoutout to the Oliver/Katie shippers who might read this. But tbh if there were any they'd probably be trying to eat me alive for ruining their OTP or something like that,_


	14. Chapter 14- Acromantula Hunting

**Chapter 14- Acromantula Hunting**

A week after the Hogsmeade trip, Harry received a letter from one of the school owls while having breakfast. Ron and Hermione looked at him curiously as he opened the letter.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Our schedules have been cleared to allow your mentor to come and train you today after classes._

 _Professor Dumbledore_

 _PS- I'm rather fond of Sugar Quills._

"He's fond of Sugar Quills? What's that supposed to mean?" said Ron, peering over Harry's shoulder.

"I think it's the password to get up to his office," answered Harry.

"Uh oh, Umbridge saw that owl, and she's heading this way," warned Hermione.

Indeed, Harry saw Umbridge moving her stubby legs as fast as she could in Harry's direction, a look of fierce determination etched over her toad-like face.

"Damn," muttered Harry. He pulled out his wand and said " _Incendio."_ The paper burst into flame just as Umbridge arrived.

"What was that letter?" demanded the Defence professor, wearing a frilly pink cardigan and skirt.

"Oh, just the usual hate mail I get every now and again," Harry lied smoothly.

"So why did you destroy the evidence?" pressed Umbridge.

"Because it was very hateful and since I'm an unstable young man I thought it wise to remove the offending letter before I fell into a fit," mocked Harry in a bored tone. "Surely we wouldn't want that in front of the whole student body, would we?"

Beside Harry, Ron was struggling to suppress his laughter, and even Hermione was trying to hide a smile. Other Gryffindors who had heard the exchange were sniggering as well, which only seemed to annoy Umbridge even further.

Umbridge smiled unpleasantly, which was never a good sign. "Detention, Mr Potter. Tonight. My office," she huffed.

"For what?" snapped Harry, quickly losing his temper.

"For lying," Umbridge sneered, her pudgy eyes bulging.

"I don't ever recall lying to you this morning," said Harry, his eyes blazing.

Before Umbridge could give an angry retort, a calm voice interrupted.

"Is there a problem here Dolores?" said Professor Dumbledore, wearing sunflower yellow robes, his eyes twinkling madly.

"Mr Potter refuses to tell me the contents regarding the letter he received this morning, so I have given him a detention," said Umbridge in a superior tone.

"Is this true?" Dumbledore asked Harry.

"No, Professor. I had merely told her that I had received my usual weekly letter from an anonymous hater," Harry stated.

"I do not see any problem then Dolores," said Dumbledore.

"As High Inquisitor I have the right to give students detentions-" began Umbridge.

"So long as you present a valid reason for punishment," finished Dumbledore firmly. "Mr Potter has given you no such reason, other than your own personal bias towards him. Now, I believe you have a lesson to prepare."

Umbridge gave Dumbledore a glare that she usually only reserved for Harry, but Dumbledore merely smiled at her amusedly. She then huffed, stomped her foot and strutted out of the Great Hall. Dumbledore gave Harry a wink before he walked back towards the staff table.

Ron, Hermione and several other Gryffindors burst into laughter while Harry gave a triumphant smile in the direction where Umbridge had departed and he continued on with his breakfast in peace, feeling content that he had finally gotten the upper hand in his war against Umbitch, with some help from Dumbledore, of course.

oOoOoOo

Later that evening, Harry approached the Headmaster's office alone. The stone gargoyle guarding the entrance looked as ugly as ever, and judging by the sneer on its face, the gargoyle knew it too.

"Sugar Quills," Harry said to the gargoyle, and it leapt to the side, revealing the swirling staircase up to the Headmaster's office.

Harry climbed up the steps and knocked on the wooden door, and it swung open of its own accord. Harry entered cautiously, peering around the various magical instruments to see if anyone was home.

"Hello?" called out Harry. Nobody answered. Feeling a little confused now, Harry walked over to Dumbledore's desk, which had a sealed envelope addressed to Harry. He flicked his index finger, and a claw sprung forward with a soft _snikt!_ and sliced the envelope open easily. Harry read the letter enclosed to him.

 _Harry, this letter is a portkey that will take you to Mr Adams, where you will have your first lesson. The portkey will activate once you have finished reading this._

 _Albus Dumbledore._

"Oh Merlin's saggy-" swore Harry just as the portkey activated and he felt the familiar unpleasant tugging behind his navel and he was whisked away to who-knows-where.

"OOF!" Harry landed on a patch of dirt, littered with twigs, face first. He adjusted his glasses that had fallen askew and looked over his surroundings.

He was in a clearing of some kind, its borders surrounded by dark oak and pine trees. The ground was comprised of dirt, fallen branches and twigs, leaves and some boulders sticking out of the earth. The waxing gibbous moon hung over the clearing, lighting up the clearing in pale, white light. Just beyond the border of the clearing, Harry could hear creatures prowling as close as they dared without being spotted, invisible in the darkness. To Harry's right, soft clicking could be heard, accompanied by the pitter-patter of multiple feet. Harry could just make out beady eyes reflecting the moon's light.

"I guess the saying that cats always land on their feet has been proven false today."

Harry whipped around and drew his wand, pointing it at the source of the voice behind. He sighed in relief, however and lowered his wand when he only saw Dillon, who hadn't even flinched and was watching Harry with his head cocked to the side.

"Well, your reflexes are certainly sharp," commented Dillon, stepping forward.

"Where are we?" asked Harry, peering over Dillon's shoulder to stare at the beady eyes that stared at Harry with no emotion.

"The middle of the Forbidden Forest," said Dillon. He looked over his shoulder and smirked. "Ah, the Acromantulas are curious. But not to worry, they can't come into the clearing unless I say so, plus we'll be seeing plenty of them later."

"Later?" said Harry loudly.

"What? You didn't think that we'd spend all night in here did you?" said Dillon with a smirk. "No, tonight we'll be journeying beyond the clearing in our beast forms, and you'll be letting the animal take over for the hunt."

"Er... okay?" said Harry, though it sounded more like a question, even to him.

"Before we leave, however," continued Dillon, "I'm going to explain our lesson courses. For the first few meetings you will be letting your beast take the reigns, which will help you get more in touch with yourself. We'll also be doing a little bit of Defensive magical training and dueling, which, combined with our runs through the forest in your beast form, will help expand your magical core. Once I feel you're ready, I will be teaching you Occlumency, which is the magic of shielding your mind from outside attacks and help control your emotions better.

"Later on in the year I'll be teaching you some martial arts techniques and weapons training, which believe me is very useful for if you're stuck in a tricky situation."

"What kind of weapons training?" asked Harry, feeling curious as to the prospects of learning to wield a sword like a knight of old.

Instead of revealing a sword as Harry hoped, Dillon pulled the sleeves of his black trench coat to reveal a pair of black, leathery gauntlets. The gloves of the gauntlets were edged with a silvery metal, and the knuckles were capped with solid steel. With a flick of his wrist, three razor sharp silver claws unsheathed with loud _snikts!_ jutting over the gaps between his knuckles and reminding Harry of a superhero he had seen in one of Dudley's old Muggle comics. The smooth, sharp blades themselves were about as long as Dillon's forearms and were slightly curved.

"These are the preferred non-magical weapon of the werecat," explained Dillon, turning his wrist to show Harry the elegance and grace of the three claws. "They're very versatile weapons, and with practice they can prove to be very deadly.

"Of course, you don't have to have three claws in the gauntlets. Some werecats prefer to use a single, flat blade or even two claws instead of one. The underside of the gauntlet has a wand holster, and with a flick of your wrist your wand will appear in your hand." Dillon straightened his wrist and the three claws slid back into the forearm of the gauntlet, and he grinned at Harry's stunned expression. "They also have a Disillusionment Charm on them, so nobody can see them except for you."

"When can I get me some of those?" whispered Harry in awe, and Dillon laughed before limping over and clapping Harry on the shoulder.

"With time and practice, my boy. Now, strip off your clothes and transform, we've got some hunting to do," said Dillon before he turned away from Harry to give him some privacy.

Harry took of his clothes and glasses and transformed into his black-furred were-lion form, which, as Dillon had promised, was quickly becoming second nature to Harry thanks to practice. Dillon shifted into his full lion form and growled slightly at Harry before he took off into the trees.

Harry followed after the massive golden lion and sprinted on all fours, his clawed hands digging into the earth and kicking up dirt behind him. In front of the two were-lions, a pack of acromantulas shrieked and scuttled away as fast as their many legs could carry them, but Harry and Dillon were easily able to pass by them.

Running through the Forbidden Forest reminded Harry of flying in the air on his broomstick, but it felt more... natural. The wind ruffled his long, black mane and he darted between the trees at blinding speed. He noticed that he could see clearly in the darkness for hundred of yards ahead, his almost perfect vision seeing things that Harry would normally never be able to spot. Near an old elm tree was a group of Bowtruckles engaged in an argument, while to his left Harry saw a pack of wolves watching the two were-lions running through the forest curiously.

Dillon slowed to a jog, which Harry copied, and the two crouched low to the ground.

"You see them?" asked Dillon, his voice having changed into a much deeper tone.

A few metres in front of them, a pack of Acromantulas had cornered a unicorn and her foal, their pincers clicking excitedly as they closed in on their would-be prey.

"Albus has asked us to cull the Acromantula population a little bit, apparently they've been getting braver and getting a little to close to the school for his comfort," explained Dillon.

"So it's our job to get rid of them?" said Harry, not feeling entirely comfortable with the situation thanks to his last encounter with the giant spiders.

"Sure is," said Dillon, "Don't worry. Just let your instincts take control and you'll be fine."

Dillon moved silently over to flank the Acromantulas, his body poised to strike at any moment. Harry, in the meantime, closed his eyes and felt around through his conscience for the beast side of him, drawing it out until his own reasoning was pushed to the side to allow the hunter to take over.

Harry crawled closer to the spiders, his body crouched as low as possible to the ground. He was thankful for his dark fur, as no doubt the hungry spiders would have seen his massive frame coming from miles away. His nosed sniffed the air testily, picking up on the fear from the unicorns and the excitement from the spiders. As he got closer, Harry was almost completely lying on his stomach, and he had turned his paws upwards so that his fur could muffle the sounds of any snapping twigs or rustling leaves.

When Harry was close enough to the nearest Acromantula that he could reach out and touch its hairy abdomen if he wanted to, he pounced, emitting a loud roar that startled the spiders and making the mare whinny in fright. Being larger than the giant spider, Harry almost crushed it when he landed, though the spider was able to move to the side slightly so that it wouldn't get flattened.

Harry's claws pierced through the thick exoskeleton of the Acromantula, and the spider screeched in pain as it struggled to get itself free from the black were-lion's clutches. Harry held on and snarled at the now frightened spider and sunk his long canines into the soft flesh between the thorax and abdomen. Green ooze squirted out of the wounds and the spider shrieked again, its pincers clicking wildly while its brothers looked on in shock. Harry growled and wrapped his thick arms around the spider and squeezed as hard as he could while his back legs dug into the earth, holding the struggling spider down.

Harry squeezed so hard on the Acromantula that its guts exploded from its fanged mouth, a stinky green and yellow ooze that made the spider's shrieks turn into disgusting gurgles. Its struggling ceased as Harry bit into the thorax and his teeth pierced its brain, killing the giant spider and Harry threw the now-dead Acromantula away, roaring in triumph. In the confusion the unicorn mare bolted from the ensuing battle between werecat and Acromantula, her foal trailing behind her.

Dillon had killed another Acromantula a lot quicker and less messier than Harry and was now moving on to his second. Harry, however, was so caught up in his victory that he didn't see two more spiders jump and tackle him to the ground, their pincers clicking angrily. Harry rolled over and pinned one spider to the ground while he kicked the other away and roared furiously before raking his claws through the first spider's soft underbelly. The Acromantula screamed in agony and Harry shoved his fist straight through its ruined stomach, killing it.

By the time Harry had killed the second spider the third had recovered from Harry's kick, though its exoskeleton now had a large crack through it and was seeping green goo. It was a lot larger than the other two Harry had killed, he noted, and thought it was probably one of Aragog's older children and no doubt the leader of this pack. It charged at Harry and he tackled it head on, punching and swiping at it with his claws. The two monsters rolled around the ground and kicked up dirt and roots in their titanic battle. The spider was able to sink its fangs into Harry's shoulder and he roared in pain, but was able to grab its head and throw it off him.

Harry held on to its fangs and ripped them clean off, making the spider screech in pain and he stabbed it in the underbelly with them. Harry then reached down, grabbing the thorax with one hand and the abdomen with the other and pulled, ignoring the kicks the spider's many legs were delivering as it struggled to get free from Harry's grip. The Acromantula's screams were cut off when Harry, with one last pull, tore the thing clean in half, coating his once shiny black fur in blood and guts.

Harry roared as he tossed the two halves of the spider away unceremoniously. Harry gently pressed his conscience forward, taking over as the instinctual side of him melted away and he looked over to his mentor. Except for the green goo that stained his muzzle, Dillon appeared completely unfazed from the battle, unlike Harry who was completely covered in spider guts and dirt and the wound on his shoulder that was still bleeding and stinging from the venom.

"How long does it take for Acromantula wounds to heal?" asked Harry.

"Not sure, I've never been bitten by one," said Dillon amusedly.

At that moment Harry felt the muscle fibres in his shoulder stitch back together, making Harry sigh in content as the stinging went away.

"Well, it works," commented Harry.

"Good work, but there's still more spiders to kill," said Dillon and he took off again, followed closely by Harry.

They stopped off near a pond so Harry could wash off the smelly goo from his body, though Dillon had to transform and cast a scourgify charm to remove the rest, then they took again.

Harry relished in the heat of the battle as he tore through entire packs of Acromantulas like they were nothing. He reveled in the screams of the monsters he slew and roared a challenge into the night every time he won a battle, daring anything to fight him. However, the human part of Harry was worried that he loved the thrill of the hunt a little _too_ much, but he put it aside every time another battle with the arachnids was about to commence.

By the time the two were-lions returned to the small clearing Harry had slain over two dozen Acromantulas, and Dillon almost twice that much. No longer were curious eyes peering through the trees on the border of the clearing, the monsters outside too fearful to even be in the same vicinity as Harry and Dillon.

"Well, I'd say that was a rather productive night," said Dillon once he transformed back into his human form.

Harry said nothing while he put his clothes back on. Dillon seemed to sense Harry's mood and walked over to him, crouching on the ground while Harry put his shoes on.

"Just because you enjoyed killing them doesn't make you a bad person," said Dillon, correctly guessing Harry's thoughts.

Harry looked stunned for a moment. "How did you...?"

"I was thinking the same things as you the first night my mentor took me out hunting," said Dillon.

"But how can you live with it?"

"The bloodlust and thrill you feel while hunting is just a natural part of you. It's merely you satiating the beast's instinctual needs to hunt. It helps that you were hunting predators in your territory, and the Alpha carnivore is content for now. You'll probably find that you're less prone to snap at your friends now."

"Well I guess that's one upside," snorted Harry, feeling a little better now. "What did you mean about being the Alpha carnivore? And when we met in Dumbledore's office, you said something about being the leader of my 'pride?'" he asked.

"Well, as you should know, lions are social creatures," said Dillon, leaning back to sit on his backside. "In fact, lions are the only actively social cats in the world, and the fact that you're a male were-lion means that you're a leader. People will be naturally drawn to you and you will feel the need to protect them."

"But two male lions in the same area leads to conflict, so why aren't we tearing at each other's throats?" asked Harry.

"Because right now, you're not a threat to me," said Dillon. "By werecat standards, you're just a cub and as the person who turned you, I'm sort of your father."

"I don't have a father. He's dead," snapped Harry, his mood souring.

"I know that. But the lion in me recognises you as its offspring of sorts," said Dillon calmly. "But when you mature and grow more acquainted with yourself, I'll feel the need to distance myself from you and force you to find your own pride. Though i suspect that you already have with your friends."

"So eventually, you won't want anything to do with me?" said Harry.

"I didn't say that, but you'll probably see less and less of me and odds are I'll have to bring in somebody else to complete your training."

"I guess that makes sense," said Harry. Suddenly a thought struck him. "Do you have a pride?"

"No, I'm a lone lion," Dillon said bluntly. Harry felt a little put off by Dillon's brashness, but didn't say anything more on the subject.

"Anyway, it's getting late. Dumbledore will let you know when our next meeting is," said Dillon, standing up and stretching his arms.

Harry stood up as well and Dillon handed him a stick that had been charmed into a portkey to take Harry back to Dumbledore's office, and he felt the unpleasant sensation of being teleported back to Hogwarts. He was able to land on his feet this time as he appeared back in the Headmaster's office, and this time he wasn't alone.

Dumbledore sat behind his desk reading through some old tomes. The old wizard peered over his spectacles and smiled, but Harry noticed that he was trying to not make eye contact with him.

"A productive evening, I hope?" asked Dumbledore lightly.

"Well, let's just say that your arachnid problem will soon be taken care of," replied Harry.

"Excellent, excellent. I do believe that Mr Adams is the best qualified to teach you to harness your new abilities," said Dumbledore.

"That's probably because he's the only other werecat we know," replied Harry. Dumbledore chuckled.

"Indeed. Now, I think it's time for bed, you still have lessons tomorrow and I believe that Mr Weasley and Miss Granger are eagerly awaiting your return," said Dumbledore, turning his attention back to the tome.

Harry nodded his head and excused himself, bidding the Headmaster goodnight. He didn't realise that he was back until the Fat Lady cleared her throat impatiently.

"Oh, sorry. Beetlejuice," said Harry and walked through the hidden passage.

As Dumbledore predicted, Ron and Hermione were waiting for Harry by the fireplace, and their heads whipped around as soon as Harry stepped through the hole into the common room.

"Well? What happened? Did he teach you any new spells?" said Hermione as soon as Harry collapsed on the couch between them.

"Easy Hermione. I'm pretty tired as you can see," waved off Harry.

"Sorry but this is all so exciting, don't you think?" spouted off Hermione.

"Yeah..." mumbled Harry.

"What did you do?" asked Ron.

"Huh? Oh, we went hunting," said Harry, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Hunting? Why did you do that?" said Hermione.

"Dillon wants me to get more in touch with my beast form. He said it'll help me with my emotions and become more acquainted with my magical core."

"Wow."

"Mhm."

"What did you hunt?" asked Ron.

"Acromantulas," replied Harry.

He grinned when he heard Ron's hard start beating harder.

"Why Acromantulas?" said Hermione.

Harry opened one eye and looked at his bushy-haired friend. "Apparently they've been encroaching on the Hogwarts borders a bit so he asked Dillon and I to kill a few," he said.

"That's a little barbaric," hissed Hermione.

"Oh please don't tell me you're going to start an Acromantula rights campaign now, are you?" groaned Ron.

"Ron's right Hermione. They tried to have a go at me as well. And must I remind you of second year?" added Harry. "Besides, they're man-eaters."

Hermione huffed, but said nothing.

"Have you found a room for the DA meetings?"

"Er... no," said Ron.

"We've thought about going to the Shrieking Shack or the Forbidden Forest, but the Shack's too small and-" said Hermione.

"And there's no bloody way I'm going into the forest," finished Ron.

"Language," scolded Hermione.

"What? It's true!"

"That doesn't give you the excuse to swear!"

Trying to attempt to diffuse the argument, Harry asked, "What about the classroom I used when I first transformed? The thing put up some wards by itself to protect you from me, didn't it?"

"Well, we did think of that. But the thing is..." said Hermione.

"It's not there anymore," finished Ron.

Harry sat up straight and scowled at his friends. "What do you mean it isn't there anymore?" he said.

"We mean it isn't there anymore," repeated Ron.

"This doesn't seem right," said Harry. "Dobby!"

The excitable house elf popped into existence, making Hermione squeal in fright.

"Harry Potter called Dobby?" said the elf.

"Yes. Now can you tell me about any disappearing classrooms on the seventh floor?" asked Harry.

Dobby's enormous eyes widened and he bounced up and down excitedly. "Oh yes! There is a magic room we house elves call the Come and Go Room. But wizards call it the Room of Requirement!" he squeaked.

"Wy do they call it that?" said Hermione.

"The Room changes to suit the needs of whoever needs it," answered Dobby, his large ears swinging from side to side.

"So, say if I needed a toilet..." began Ron.

"Then the room appears with a toilet!" squeaked Dobby.

"What if we needed a secret room to practice Defence Against the Dark Arts?" said Harry.

"Then the room will change to suit that!"

Harry exchanged similar looks with Ron and Hermione, then grinned at Dobby. "Thanks Dobby, now how do we get into there?"

"Harry Potter and his friends just need to walk past the picture of Barnabas the Barmy three times and the door will appear!" answered Dobby, beaming from the praise Harry had just given him.

"Thanks a lot Dobby," said Harry appreciatively. Dobby popped away again and Harry looked at Hermione, who was giving him a condescending look.

"You shouldn't have used him like that," she hissed.

"We got the answers we needed, didn't we?" snapped Harry. "Now we know where to meet, can you set up a date for the next meeting?"

"I think so. When do you want it?" she asked.

"Maybe the weekend after the first Quidditch match," said Harry. He stood up then and yawned loudly. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm stuffed. Goodnight." And with that, Harry went up to bed, completely knackered from the events of that night.


	15. Chapter 15- Fractured

_A/N- This chapter was a bloody pain in me ass to write. Joanne was right, writing about Quidditch is fricken hard as heck._

 **Chapter 15- Fractured**

Harry took a breath of the fresh, cold late autumn air as he and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team marched down to the Quidditch pitch, a trail of Gryffindors following behind them and shouting words of encouragement. The snow had not dissipated at all, and in fact looked as though the mounds of white had risen higher. Luckily somebody had cleared the path down to the pitch, making it much easier to travel down to the pitch.

Nobody spoke as they made their way into the changing rooms. Even Fred and George were silent as they put their Quidditch robes on. Ron was starting to look like he might be sick, his face turning bright green which clashed with his red hair. Harry walked over to him and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"It'll be alright," whispered Harry.

Ron only grunted in reply as he finished strapping on his pads.

Harry gave a half-hearted smile and walked back to his locker and chucked his robes on and strapped his pads and gloves on, then grabbed his Firebolt and sat down between Ron and George on the benches facing the chalk board. Angelina was pacing back and forth, a scowl on her face and her arms folded.

"Alright," she said finally, stopping to look at her players. Harry instinctively straightened up at the sight of the dark girl practically stabbing him with her eyes. "It's the first game of the season, and how we play today will be the template for the rest of the season.

"Alicia, Katie," she said, pointing to the other two Chasers, "You already know what to do. Fred, George, keep those Bludgers off our hides, especially Harry's. Slytherin will be making sure to take him out early so that Malfoy won't be stopped."

"Yes sir Capitan!" said George, he and Fred saluting Angelina like a soldier taking orders from a sergeant.

"Er... he meant Yes ma'am," said Fred, nudging George with his elbow while grinning sheepishly at his girlfriend, who was glaring at them now.

"Anyway," continued Angelina, her eyes moving from the twins to settle on Ron. "It's your first game Ron, so I can understand your nervousness. We all felt it our first games too. But you need to keep it under control. We'll try our best to make it easy for you but you still gotta stop any Quaffles that come your way.

"And Harry." Harry looked up to stare Angelina right in the eye. "Catch the snitch and try not to end up in the hospital wing doing so."

"Yes ma'am," said Harry, making sure to not make the same mistake George did.

"Good, now let's go out there and make sure the Cup stays in McGonagall's office!" bellowed Angelina.

The changing room filled with loud cheering as the Gryffindor Quidditch team stood from their benches, gathered round in a circle and chanted "LIONS! LIONS! LIONS!"

With a final cheer from Angelina, the team and Harry walked out of the changing room and onto the Quidditch pitch, where they were met with the deafening roars from the crowd gathered to watch the first game of the season.

It seemed that Gryffindor were the crowd favourites, with many of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws dressed in the crimson and gold of Gryffindor, while a quarter of the remaining students gathered were garnished in the emerald and silver of Slytherin.

Harry glanced over his shoulder to peer at Ron, who had visibly blanched at the massive crowd gathered. Harry caught Katie's eye, and she smiled and winked at him before climbing her broom and taking off into the air. Harry saddled onto his Firebolt and shot up like a bullet from a gun and made a few loops around the pitch. Malfoy sneered superiorly at Harry and flew over to the rest of the Slytherin team on his Nimbus Two Thousand and One.

Harry watched as Angelina walked over to the middle of the pitch and shook hands with the Slytherin captain, a burly seventh-year by the name of Warrington. Angelina appeared to flinch under the crushing grip of Warrington under Madam Hooch's supervision, then the two took off into the air. Opening a chest, Madam Hooch released the two Bludgers and the golden Snitch. Harry's eyes followed the Snitch until it disappeared into the red and gold crowd, and with a burst of speed, he flew high above the pitch, keeping his eyes peeled for the Snitch and the game.

Slytherin had won the Quaffle, and their three Chasers were speeding towards the Gryffindor goal posts in a Hawkshead Formation. _Good,_ thought Harry. The Gryffindor Chasers had practiced this maneuver on Ron a thousand times during practice, and he had stopped the Quaffle from scoring every time.

Warrington avoided Alicia and passed it to one of his fellow Chasers, who passed it to the third Chaser, who looked as though he was about to score. Ron's eyes zeroed in on the Quaffle, and the Chaser threw the Quaffle towards the right goal as Ron dove for it...

And missed!

"Slytherin leading, ten points to zero!" boomed the voice of Lee Jordan, who had been the Quidditch commentator since Harry's first year. "Can't blame Ron Weasley though, as the newest member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, this _is_ his first game. But wouldn't surprise me if one of the Slytherin's tried to Confund-"

"Jordan!" warned Professor McGonagall.

"Sorry Professor. Anyway, Katie Bell with the Quaffle now, she passes to Alicia Spinnet, she avoids a Bludger sent her way by Crabbe, she throws... AND SCORES! Gryffindor ties with Slytherin ten all!"

Three quarters of the crowd went wild as Alicia scored, and the Chaser high-fived Fred as she flew past. Harry spared a glance at Ron, who looked pretty shaken up from his miss. He flew down next to Ron.

"Cheer up mate! It's only the start of the game!" called out Harry before taking off again in search of the Snitch.

As the game progressed, Ron's confidence only seemed to deteriorate. He let in more and more goals, which was only balanced by the Chaser girls' superb skills, barely keeping Gryffindor ahead of the game. Two hours into the game, Gryffindor was ahead 180-160, but the whole team was getting frustrated. Crabbe and Goyle were relentless with the Bludgers, constantly trying to unseat the Gryffindors from their brooms, especially Harry. Luckily Fred and George were in perfect form and kept the Bludgers away from the players.

From the Slytherin stands, Harry could hear them chanting a song, but he couldn't hear it from so high up, but judging from the looks on the Gryffindors' faces, it wasn't good.

Harry flew down lower to hear the song, and he was stunned by what the song was about.

" _Weasley cannot save a thing,_

 _He always lets the Quaffle in._

 _That's why Slytherin's all sing,_

 _Weasley is our King!"_

Pansy Parkinson seemed to be the one leading the song, waving her wand as she stood before the Slytherins like a conductor in a choir.

" _Weasley was born in a bin,_

 _He always lets the Quaffle in._

 _Weasley will make sure we win,_

 _Weasley is our King!"_

"Like the song, Potter?" mocked Malfoy from above Harry. "We tried to incorporate his mother and father into it, but we couldn't find anything to rhyme."

Snarling ferociously, Harry kicked his broom into overdrive and dove towards the gathered Slytherins. Malfoy followed him, thinking that harry had found the Snitch. Harry aimed straight for Pansy, who hadn't noticed the two Seekers barreling towards her. At the last second Harry pulled up mere feet from the distracted Slytherin girl, though other Slytherins screamed and ducked as Harry brushed past them.

Malfoy however, wasn't so fortunate. Unable to pull up in time, he slammed right into Pansy, sending the two flying into the crowd amidst shrieking from both Malfoy and Pansy.

"And a _brilliant_ Wronski Feint from Harry Potter!" screamed Lee. "It certainly shut those bloody snakes up- sorry Professor."

But Professor McGonagall was too busy cheering Harry's efforts in stopping the Slytherins from taunting Ron to tell Lee off for his biased commentary. Smirking, Harry shot off into the air again to search for the Snitch, while a dazed and humiliated Malfoy trailed after him.

The two Seekers looped around the pitch a couple times, their eyes scanning for any sign of the Snitch. Well, Harry was. Malfoy was too busy keeping his eyes on Harry with a scowl that seemed permanently etched onto his face. He'd thankfully stopped his taunting.

"Well done Harry!" called out Katie as she flew past him, sending the raven-haired boy a dazzling smile. Harry grinned back and turned his eyes over to the Ravenclaw section, and he saw it.

Hovering just over Michael Corner's head was the Snitch. Trying not to appear obvious, Harry lazily flew over to the Ravenclaws, his eyes never leaving the Snitch. When he was hovering about a hundred feet above and to the left of the Snitch, he dove. Malfoy hesitated for a brief moment before he too saw the Snitch.

Harry had to perform a barrel roll to avoid a Bludger courtesy of Goyle, which allowed Malfoy to catch up till the two Seekers were neck and neck. Diving directly vertically down, Harry realised that they were going too fast to be able to pull up safely without crushing Michael whilst simultaneously catching the Snitch. Malfoy came to the same conclusion and pulled up, but Harry decided that it was now or never, and he had to win now otherwise Gryffindor would lose their lead.

Rolling upside down on his broom, Harry let go of the broom with both his legs and his right arm, letting gravity do the rest of the work. Feeling as though he was moving in slow motion, Harry ignored the shrieks of terror coming from Hermione and Katie as he let go of the broom once he was a comfortable distance from the stands. He landed on the stand and removed most of the momentum from the fall by rolling, then sprang up on both legs again, jumped into the air and over Michael's head, catching the Snitch midair, then rolled again and jumped back on his broom all in one move, holding the struggling Snitch into the air with his enclosed fist.

There was stunned silence for the briefest of moments before the entire pitch erupted into raucous applause at Gryffindor's victory.

"GRYFFINDOR WINS TWO-HUNDRED AND THIRTY TO ONE-HUNDRED AND SIXTY!" boomed Lee, his voice rising in excitement. Professor McGonagall had a mixture of both relief and excitement as she happily bounced on her own feet.

Harry waved at Hermione who looked as though she wasn't sure whether to hug him for his stunt or thrash him for almost killing himself. Michael Corner looked as though he still wasn't sure as to what had happened, blinking like a deer caught in the headlights. Warrington was screaming at Malfoy, the veins in his head and neck popping out as Warrington attempted an impersonation of Uncle Vernon.

Harry smiled at the Gryffindor team as they flew towards them, and noticed Ron hanging back a little with a crestfallen look on his face.

Suddenly Katie screamed and shouted "HARRY LOOK OUT!"

He turned just as something hard slammed into the side of his head and he both felt and heard a loud crack as his world went dark.

oOoOoOo

The first thing that Harry felt when he regained consciousness was the sharp pounding of his head, like a troll was using his head as a drum. He dared not open his eyes, worried that if he did he would find himself back in the hospital wing, but judging by the stinging smells of disinfectant and sterilized bedsheets that were assaulting his keen nose, he was.

Harry groaned as the thumping in his head refused to settle, and he heard a sharp intake of breath, followed by the clicking of shoes against hard stone.

"Madam Pomfrey! He's waking up!" called a feminine voice. The clicking of shoes returned to Harry's side, accompanied by another pair of feet.

Harry snuck a peek, but instantly closed his eyelids shut when he was blinded by white light. He groaned again while somebody nearby clinked vials together.

"Open your mouth Mr Potter," commanded a voice.

Harry obliged and somebody shoved a vial into his mouth, and Harry downed a foul-tasting liquid. He coughed and spluttered for a moment, but relaxed and sighed lazily when the pounding inside his head eased down until it was little more than an unpleasant thrumming. Harry chanced opening his eyes and was relieved when his vision wasn't attacked by the white walls and curtains of the hospital wing again, though it still felt excessively bright.

Madam Pomfrey was busy adjusting the pillows behind his head, muttering to herself about Potters always ending up in the hospital wing. Harry inwardly laughed to himself and smiled.

"What are you smiling about?" asked a voice to Harry's right.

Harry slowly turned his head and saw Katie, sitting in the bedside chair and looking at him with a mixture of relief and amusement. Her usually straight brown hair was disheveled and she had small dark circles under her eyes.

"Oh, just Madam Pomfrey cursing my family name," said Harry lightly.

"Your father was in here almost as much as you were, mainly due to a prank gone wrong or Quidditch," said Madam Pomfrey in a stern voice as she left Harry and Katie alone by themselves.

"What happened?" asked Harry when Madam Pomfrey closed the door to her office.

"Goyle got in a cheap shot at the end of the game with a Bludger and hit you on the side of the head," said Katie. "You fell off your broom as well and broke most of the bones on your left side."

"That explains why I can't feel my arm," said Harry. "How long?"

"Four days," whispered Katie. "Madam Pomfrey said you had a cracked skull from the Bludger, and there was a chance you wouldn't make it. She and Dumbledore were considering moving you to St Mungo's until this morning when your skull had somehow healed over and most of your bones mended."

"Eh, just another brush with death I guess," said Harry nonchalantly, though he had to stifle a groan when his head started to hammer again. Katie handed him another vial of Pain-Relieving Potion and he quickly drunk it, grimacing at the taste.

"Anyone else been up visit?" asked Harry when the pain died down.

"The whole Gryffindor team and Hermione have been taking turns watching you throughout the week," said Katie. "You just happened to wake up when I was watching you."

"Really? Does everyone else look like the walking dead like you?" asked Harry. He could hear Katie's heart pick up speed and she blushed, but for whatever reason was beyond Harry.

"Er... no. Just school and worrying about you," stammered Katie, her blush deepening.

Harry smirked and decided to have a little fun with the flustered sixth-year. "Oh really? And why might you be worried about me?" he asked cheekily.

"Because then Angie would have to find a new Seeker and then she'd get ten times worse," answered Katie, herself grinning now.

"Ugh, I swear she's been channeling Oliver Wood," groaned Harry.

"Someone's going to have to check with Puddlemere, just to see if he's not dead," said Katie, dramatically covering her eyes with her hand.

Harry chuckled lightly. Then he noticed Katie's face fall slightly.

"What's wrong?" said Harry, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"Fred and George were kicked off the team," sighed Katie.

"What? Why?!" said Harry loudly, startling Katie.

"Malfoy was taunting Ron and the rest of the Weasleys so the twins beat the snot out him. They were found by Umbridge and she's placed a lifetime ban on them," she sighed.

Harry's breathing became heavier as his temper flared. How dare that woman take away the very thing the twins loved almost as much as their pranks!

"What did Angelina have to say about that?" said Harry angrily.

"She gave them a good hexing for being idiots and she's become a madwoman trying to find new beaters," said Katie. "But she gave Fred a very nice reward afterwards for defending his little brother," she added with a sly wink, and it was Harry's turn to blush.

"I don't think I want to know how she rewarded him," said Harry, shuddering.

"Are you sure? 'Cause Angie was quite explicit when she was telling Alicia and I. You see, she started with a good snog then grabbed his-"

"ARGH! NOPE, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT LALALALALALA!" yelled Harry, clapping his hands over his ears as he closed his eyes.

Katie giggled and reached over, ruffling Harry's hair in an affectionate manner. Harry opened his eyes and found himself staring at the dark-haired girl. He heard Katie's heart start racing and Harry's breath caught in his throat. He hadn't noticed before, but Harry saw that Katie's dark brown eyes had little flecks of gold in them.

Katie was leaning in a little closer to Harry, her breath becoming ragged. Harry's focus travelled down from her eyes to her full, pink lips. Harry wondered what it would be like to kiss them, they appeared so soft...

His thoughts were disrupted when the hospital wing doors opened and Katie pulled back, leaning back in her chair as she twiddled her thumbs. Harry was slightly disappointed for some reason, but smiled anyway when Ron and Hermione walked in, looking relieved to see their best friend awake at last.

"Oh Harry!" squealed Hermione and she rushed over to hug him, But Harry stuck an arm out to stop her. She looked slightly offended by the act.

"Sorry, it's just I'm still a little sore," said Harry, and Hermione's face softened before her eyes quickly darted over in the direction of where Katie was sitting, then back to Harry.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, sitting down on the end of Harry's bed while Ron hovered over them.

"Loads better actually," said Harry. "At least I'm awake now."

"We thought you weren't ever going to wake up," sniffed Hermione.

"I've had worse before Hermione," reassured Harry, smiling at her. He looked over to Ron, who had a downcast expression on his face. "You alright Ron?"

Ron looked up and gave a half-hearted smile. "Yeah mate, just glad you're okay," he said.

"It's not your fault you know."

Ron looked stunned for a moment. "What-?"

"The game, it wasn't your fault," interrupted Harry.

"I was bloody useless though!"

"You just had a bad case of the nerves, it wasn't your fault! Plus Malfoy was getting to you!"

"Yeah but-"

"But nothing. You're brilliant at practice, you just need to learn how to transfer that into the games."

Ron opened his mouth, then closed it again. "Thanks Harry. It sounds a lot better coming from you compared to the rest of the team. No offence Katie," he added.

"None taken," said Katie, shrugging. She stood up from her chair and stretched her back, expanding her chest forward in a way that made Harry's eyes widen, and he quickly averted his gaze, but Hermione had already seen him staring as she smirked.

"Well, I'm heading back up to the common room. I'll see you guys later," said Katie as she waved out to the trio, giving Harry a lingering gaze before walking out of the hospital wing.

Hermione waited until the doors closed behind Katie before rounding on Harry. "What was that all about?" she demanded lightly.

"What?" said Harry, knowing full well what she was talking about.

"Don't play dumb with me Harry," threatened Hermione.

"What? I'm a teenage boy, I can't help it!" he defended.

"What?" said Ron, looking confused.

"You never look at other girls like that!" insisted Hermione.

"Maybe you're just not paying attention!" said Harry, getting slightly annoyed now.

"I've known you for five years Harry. And I've noticed that you've been staring at Katie a lot when you think no one's looking," said Hermione.

"What?" Ron repeated.

"She's a pretty girl," insisted Harry, not liking where the conversation was leading.

"There are a lot of pretty girls in Gryffindor, or even the whole school," said Hermione, "But you only stare at Katie."

"And?" growled Harry.

"You fancy her, don't you?"

Harry, unable to control himself, burst out laughing, which of course made his head start thundering painfully and he was forced to lay back on his bed, groaning. "Katie's just a good friend of mine," said Harry after the pain stopped.

"Good friends don't look like they want to kiss each other," retorted Hermione.

"What?"

"I saw the way you two were looking at each other when we arrived!"

"Aren't I allowed to stare at a friend?"

"You're allowed to look," conceded Hermione. "But you do it a lot more often than any of your other friends when it comes to Katie."

Harry growled in a tone that was very reminiscent of the animal he could transform into. "There's nothing going on between Katie and I," said Harry tiredly. "I think you're just reading into things too deeply."

Hermione scowled and stood up, turning away from Harry.

"Oh, and just so you know, Katie stares at you a lot when you're not looking as well," she said conspiratorially before she left the hospital wing, leaving a confused Ron and a shocked Harry behind.

"What the hell was that all about?" said Ron.

"I'm not so sure," mumbled Harry, but his mind was a whirlpool of confusion. Katie stared at him when he wasn't looking? Sure, he looked at her a lot more than he used to, but that was because he was just keeping an eye out for his friend. He did it to all his friends really, though Harry had to admit that he did spend more time looking at Katie when she was around than usual. But that didn't mean anything, did it? And just like Hermione said, there was that weird moment just before, where he was curious about kissing the older girl. But surely that was just his hormones taking over.

No, he didn't fancy Katie, Harry affirmed in his mind, though he couldn't help but wonder about what it would be like to kiss her.

oOoOoOo

Never had Harry been so grateful for his healing factor until now. It was another day before Madam Pomfrey let him out of the hospital wing under strict orders to take it easy, though the nurse couldn't help but be amazed at the rate of which Harry recovered from his potentially fatal injury.

Harry walked into the Gryffindor common room with Ron and Hermione walking on either side of him, and he was met by relieved cheers from his fellow house mates. Those who believed Harry and Dumbledore about Voldemort's return, or at least didn't consider him crazy, came up to personally give him their well wishes and shake his hand, or in Angelina, Alicia and Katie's cases, hug him tightly and kiss him on the cheeks, embarrassing the poor boy in front of everyone. Fred and George sang loudly about Harry's supposed immunity from death, while Ron and Ginny joined in, making a red-haired choir in the common room.

Harry felt particularly smug when he walked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom that morning, as Umbridge looked outraged that Harry had survived his nasty Quidditch encounter. She made it particularly difficult on Harry all throughout the lesson, though nothing could dampen his mood due to the fact that he had successfully gotten under the pink toad's skin.

That afternoon he resumed his lessons with Dillon and they continued their task of culling the Acromantula population, though the end of the lesson was spent teaching Harry some impressive pieces of Defensive magic and the theory behind transforming without the need for removing one's clothes. He was also given a thick book titled _Occlumency, the Art of Shielding the Mind,_ which Harry was instructed to read every night and practice the exercises contained in the book.

Another thing that popped into Harry's life was the upcoming DA meeting that Saturday, and Harry had honestly no idea what he should teach the students who would be attending. Hermione suggested teaching something simple, like the Disarming Spell, but Harry wasn't so sure. He finally conceded when Ron agreed with Hermione, telling him that there were a few younger kids attending the meeting as well and some of the more advanced magic they knew would be too difficult for them, and that even some of the older students didn't know how to perform a proper Disarming Spell consistently.

So Harry had Hermione set the time and place for the DA meeting with the enchanted Galleon so that the others would know.

Harry's conversation with Hermione in the hospital wing kept popping up in his mind as well, and he was starting to notice things that he hadn't seen before between he and Katie. For example, now that Hermione had mentioned it, Harry was catching Katie staring at him more and more often, and she'd smile and look away, blushing slightly. Not to mention that he had noticed that he was spending more and more time with her between Quidditch practice and his ditching Defence classes. And the kiss on the cheek from Katie when he went back to the common room lasted a little longer than Angelina or Alicia's, Harry realised.

All this and more left Harry feeling rather confused in regards to his feelings towards Katie. Surely he would be constantly embarrassing himself and unable to utter more than two coherent words around her, much like how he used to be with Cho? Isn't that what crushes were supposed to be like? No, Hermione definitely had it wrong.


	16. Chapter 16- Scars to Your Name

_A/N- See end chapter for Author's Notes._

 **Chapter 16- Scars to Your Name**

Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting on three stools patiently inside the Room of Requirement. As Dobby had promised, the room had magically appeared in the form of a large square room with mirrors for walls, and the floor was padded for soft landings. On one side of the room was a large bookshelf that Hermione had been perusing, and she had told Harry and Ron that all the books were on defensive spells and dueling techniques. Next to the bookshelf were a collection of Sneakoscopes, Foe Glasses and other Dark Magic Detectors. Located on the far side of the room was a wooden dummy that resembled a Death Eater.

"They're running a little late, aren't they?" said Ron, looking grumpily at the oak door.

"It's only been a minute..." started Hermione, but she was cut off when the door opened and Neville, Ginny and Dean walked in, peering around the room with awe.

They were soon followed by the Hufflepuffs, though Zacharias Smith looked rather displeased to be here. Fred, George, Katie, Angelina, Alicia and Lee came in next and Katie waved excitedly at Harry, which he gladly returned while ignoring the smug look of Hermione's face. Soon all the students who had joined Dumbledore's Army had entered, including Cho Chang who waved at Harry in a more fanatical manner compared to Katie, but Harry did not return the gesture.

Harry stood up from his stool and nervously twirled his wand. "Er... hello, and welcome to our first official meeting of Dumbledore's Army. Today we'll be learning the Disarming Spell.."

"The Disarming Spell?" scoffed Smith. "What are we, first years?"

Harry had to resist the urge to transform into his beast form and tear apart the arrogant Hufflepuff right there and then, though Harry was sure that nobody would mind.

"The Disarming Spell has saved my life on several occasions," growled Harry, "but if you're so sure you don't need to learn it, by all means, show me how to do it."

Smith didn't look entirely comfortable with Harry's challenge but he stepped forward anyway and drew his wand, pointing it at Harry.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ he shouted, and a dull jet of white light shot from his wand and struck Harry's hand. Harry's wand twitched slightly in his hand, but did not fly towards Smith.

Ron was trying to suppress a laugh behind Harry, while Fred, George and Ginny were sniggering behind Smith's back. Harry smirked as well and stepped forward. He didn't intend to embarrass the poor boy, but Smith had to learn his place.

"You got the incantation down pat," said Harry, "but you're flourishing your wand too much and you're not putting enough power into it." Harry led the group over the the training dummy, which was holding a long, thin stick similar in appearance to a wand. "Your movements should be sharp and precise like this. _Expelliarmus!"_ Harry gave his wand a sharp twirl, and a jet of blue light shot forward, and the dummy's fake wand was ripped from its grasp and sailed towards Harry. He easily caught it and turned back to face the group, or more specifically, Smith, who looked like he wanted nothing more than to disappear into the crowd forever.

"Now, I want you to split off into pairs and practice on each other," said Harry. "Spread out so you don't accidentally hit somebody you're not meant to."

Everybody quickly followed Harry's instructions and separated into pairs, finding their own space in the Room of Requirement. Harry noticed that nobody had partnered with Neville, so Harry volunteered.

As Harry already knew, Neville was abysmal. The simple spell almost never worked for Neville, and Harry's wand didn't so much as flinch in his hand. The one time he got it to work, Neville's spell flew right past Harry and struck the back of Alicia, sending her flying across the room and slamming into Angelina. Neville profusely apologized to the girls, but his words fell on deaf ears amidst the stream of profanities both girls were muttering as they picked themselves up off the floor.

"Let me see what you're doing," said Harry.

Neville showed Harry his wand motions and Harry was quickly able to pick up what was wrong.

"You're not putting enough power into your spells," said Harry as he checked Neville's technique.

"I don't know about that," said Neville, "none of my spells ever work properly."

"Is that your own wand you bought from Ollivander's?"

Neville shook his head. "No. It was my dad's before my grandmother gave it to me," he said.

"Well that explains a lot," muttered Harry. "Just try to force your magic through the wand a bit more, and it might work out for you."

Harry called Hermione to help Neville as he made his rounds across the room, inspecting everybody's spellwork. He was disappointed to see that even among the older students, such a simple spell appeared beyond their grasp. Thankfully, the group of seventh-year Gryffindors were rather adept at it, every spell hitting its mark and sending each other's wands into the air.

The same could not be said of Cho and her friend Marietta. Cho was too busy gawking at Harry and sending him flirtatious smiles to focus on her spellwork, and Harry had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Was he seriously interested in that for so long?

Surprisingly, Luna Lovegood proved very proficient in mastering the Disarming Spell. Apparently her partner, Ginny, was thinking along the same lines as Harry and the two shared an amazed glance before turning their attention to a dreamy-faced Ravenclaw girl.

Surprised and impressed by Luna, Harry moved on, barely sparing Ron a look as he knew his best friend had already mastered the spell, though Dean, Ron's partner wasn't too bad either. But other than that, nobody showed much progression in mastering the spell, and Harry was starting to get frustrated. Some of the students were busy playing around, not really putting any effort into the lesson.

"If you're not here to properly apply yourselves and think that this is a hang out time you might as well clear off!" shouted Harry finally, glaring at Justin Finch-Fletchley and Hannah Abbott, who were among those mucking around. "We're here to learn how to defend ourselves properly, and if you're just wasting my bloody time then leave!" he reiterated.

Justin and Hannah had the grace to look ashamed, and they turned back and put their whole attention into their work. Feeling slightly satisfied, Harry moved away to watch Katie work with Fred. He wasn't entirely surprised to see Katie doing so well, but it was still a pleasant sight to watch her brow crease together and her lips pucker slightly in concentration...

"You're doing it again," said Hermione, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere to stand next to Harry.

He jumped back in surprise at Hermione's voice, and glared half-heartedly at her.

"Was not," he grumbled.

"It's funny, cause Cho looks a little put off by the lack of attention you're giving her," continued Hermione, having chosen to ignore Harry's comment. "In fact, it looks like she's lining up a hex for Katie."

Harry's head spun around, and indeed Cho was staring daggers into Katie's back, her knuckles turning white as the Asian girl gripped her wand tightly. Cho quickly peeked over to Harry, and blushed when she saw him staring at her. Harry rolled his eyes impatiently and walked over to the little incline in the centre of the room where he had started the lesson.

"Alright! Gather round everyone!" he called out, and the students lowered their wands and gathered around Harry. "That was er... not a bad effort," he said awkwardly, "but I think we can do a little better next time."

"When are we moving on to other spells?" asked Michael Corner.

"Like Patronus Charms?" said Lee Jordan.

"Or Stunning Curses?" added Susan Bones.

"When you've mastered the Disarming Spell," said Harry. "Look, we can't do any of the more advanced magic until you've mastered the easy stuff," he added when other kids raised their hands. "You've got to build up your magical core with the easy spells, and the harder ones will come to you much quicker. We'll meet again the same time next week everyone and thanks for coming."

Everybody dispersed back to their common rooms, though some lingered to chat with their friends. Cho looked like she was trying to come to Harry, so he quickly jumped off the incline and walked over to Katie.

"Hide me," he whispered to Katie, twitching his head behind him.

Katie craned her neck to peer over Harry's shoulder and saw Cho coming, and Katie nodded her head, taking Harry's hand and pulling him behind Fred and George.

"What's the matter?" said Katie. "Why are you running from Cho?"

"She's after me!" hissed Harry, "you gotta help me!"

"How?" said Katie, looking perplexed.

"I don't know, distract her somehow so I can escape!"

"Fine, but you owe me," growled Katie impatiently. "You know, for a guy who has no problem fighting Dark wizards and creatures, you sure are bloody useless when it comes to girls."

"Gee, thanks," grumbled Harry.

"Remember, you owe me!" Katie said as she turned around and went over to Cho. "Hi Cho! How are you? We haven't had much of a chance to..."

Harry didn't hear the rest of what Katie said because he escaped out of the Room of Requirement as fast as he could, then sprinted up to Gryffindor Tower. He almost tripped over Mrs Norris, who hissed angrily as he sprinted past, but he ignored the red-eyed cat.

"Cannons," muttered Harry to the Fat Lady, but she didn't hear him. She was gossiping to Viola about some dashing knight in one of the lower paintings.

"Cannons," repeated Harry impatiently. And still the Fat Lady ignored him. " _Cannons!"_ he bellowed, his voice carrying down the dark corridors.

"Learn some manners!" scolded the Fat Lady as her portrait swung open.

"Learn to do your job," Harry retorted, and he heard the indignant huff of the Fat Lady as he marched into the common room. Nobody from Gryffindor who attended the DA meeting had arrived yet, so Harry bounded up the staircase two steps at a time into the fifth-year boys dormitory.

oOoOoOo

The next DA meeting went slightly better. Nobody was fluffing around carelessly, and their improvement was becoming obvious. Most people were able to successfully perform the Disarming Spell, though Neville's performance was stunted by his wand that refused to cooperate. However, many of their fellow DA members were very encouraging of Neville, and it warmed Harry's heart to see the camaraderie amongst everyone.

Most people still acted coldly towards Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis, so Harry made it his mission to include them in everything, often pairing them with either Hermione or Ginny. He was surprised to note that both Slytherin girls were fairly adept at Defensive magic, actually they were better than the majority of the DA besides Harry, Hermione, and possibly Ron. When he asked them about it Daphne shrugged.

"My father has often hired private tutors for my sister and I during the summer," said Daphne in a clear voice that practically screamed 'High Society Living.' "Tracey often comes around during the holidays to learn as well, cause she's a Half-Blood. Most Pureblood families do something similar as well."

"So you cheat?" said Harry.

"Not really," said Daphne, "but it's just another advantage that the rich Pureblood families have over the rest of the Wizarding World- not that Tracey and I agree with it," she added after Harry's face darkened, "but we take advantage of every opportunity we can get. We are Slytherins, after all."

"So why come here? You both already seem to know your stuff," queried Harry.

"Because our families would rather sit on the sidelines than be involved in the war that's coming," said Tracey. "The Dark Lord has already approached our families in hopes of allying ourselves with him, but they would rather wait the coming storm out. Daphne and I believe that the blood purity ideals are outdated and wrong, and we want to do something about it. Besides, you've actually had to use this stuff in a real-life situation, so we figured we might pick up a thing or two from you."

Harry never questioned the Slytherin girls' intentions after that, and made every effort to include them in the lessons.

By their third meeting, Harry deemed the DA worthy to move on to Stunning Spells. This was met with a lot of groaning, but Harry reminded them of their need to start small and work their way up to the top. The Room of Requirement magically adjusted its interior to include thick cushions to stop the students from hurting themselves as they were blasted into the air and knocked unconscious.

Harry was relieved to find that everyone picked up on the Stunning Spell a lot quicker than _Expelliarmus,_ and soon the entire Room of Requirement was filled with students flying through the air as they were Stunned. Maybe they had a chance of getting through this year and pass their exams. Maybe Harry was truly preparing them for the war that he was so sure was coming...

"You're not concentrating," reprimanded Dillon when Harry was blown off his feet for the third time that night. They were in the clearing in the middle of the Forbidden Forest again, and were practicing dueling techniques and some advanced magic.

Harry had been training extensively under Dillon's tutelage, practicing every form of combat from magic to martial arts, and even learning how to use the deadly arsenal of weapons at Harry's disposal in his beast form. Harry thus far had never beaten Dillon in any sparring match they had; magical or non-magical, and the beast was getting annoyed by it.

"Sorry, just thinking of the DA," said Harry as he rose to his feet.

"The kids' listening to you?" asked Dillon.

"Well, not at first. But they're all cooperating really well now," said Harry.

"Good, good..." muttered Dillon, stroking his well trimmed beard. Suddenly he drew his wand and waved it over his head once and bellowed " _Flagellum Flamma!"_

A long whip of bright orange flame shot out of Dillon's wand, and with a snap of his wrist, the fiery whip lurched forward with a loud _crack!_ which sent burning sparks flying into the air, and wrapped around Harry's ankle. Harry swore loudly as the whip scorched his skin and he was yanked off his feet. Dillon coiled the flame whip around his wand and Harry was dragged towards his mentor.

Harry growled and dug his claws on one hand into the ground, creating tiny canyons on the dirt as he was continually dragged back to Dillon. Gripping his wand tightly in the other hand, Harry pointed it behind him and shouted " _Reducto!_ " the jet of light streaked towards Dillon, and he was forced to relinquish the flame whip's hold on Harry's ankle to avoid the curse.

Harry sprang up on his feet again, ignoring the burning sensation in his ankle and he charged towards Dillon, snarling ferociously. He pocketed his wand and jumped into the air inhumanly high, transforming into his beast form midair, his clothes vanishing as well thanks to Dillon's teaching. Harry landed on all fours and leapt again, this time straight towards Dillon. Dillon was only just able to transform before Harry's massive form slammed into him, creating a sound like thunder as their bodies collided.

Giant, black and gold masses of fur tumbled and rolled on the ground, dirt kicking up everywhere. Snarls and roars of anger echoed throughout the clearing as the two werecats fought tooth and claw against one another.

Harry managed to pin the golden-haired were-lion on the ground and he began clawing at Dillon's partially exposed torso. Dillon was able to shield himself from most of the damage with his forearm, and he threw a punch with the other arm.

The massive, furred fist collided with the side of Harry's maned head, sending the black were-lion flying through the air, smashing into a large boulder near the edge of the clearing. The boulder cracked under the force of Harry, and Harry felt his shoulder pop out of its socket. Growling, Harry forced his shoulder back in, and the aching eased away almost immediately.

Unfortunately, Harry's concentration lapsed and he was sideswiped by Dillon, who pinned Harry to the ground. Dillon leant down until his muzzle was almost touching Harry's and the two growled menacingly at each other. Dillon ran his long, razor sharp claws down Harry's broad, muscular and very furry chest, raking four, long, deep lines of red down from Harry's collarbone to the bottom of his pectorals.

Harry howled in pain as Dillon carved his claws through his chest, and begrudgingly growled in submission. Dillon stepped off of Harry and transformed back into the tall, muscular man Harry had grown acquainted with. Harry transformed back into his human form as well and winced when the thin red lines started bleeding freely, staining the dirty white shirt he was wearing.

"Sorry about that," said Dillon. "But you were acting like a true Alpha tonight."

"Yeah, sorry," muttered Harry, cursing under his breath as the injuries didn't heal.

"Damn it, you're bleeding worse than I thought," growled Dillon, and he summoned a leather satchel towards him. He opened the bag and dug around for a bit, before he pulled a bottle of clear liquid out. "Essence of Dittany. It'll help stop the bleeding, but those scars will be there for the rest of your life, I'm afraid," said Dillon, pouring some of the liquid on his bleeding forearm where Harry had scratched him earlier in their skirmish.

Harry gratefully accepted the bottle and dropped a little bit of Dittany on his chest. He hissed when the liquid seeped into his wounds, but the burning sensation lessened slightly, and he was able to breath more comfortably.

"What was that fire whip spell you used?" asked Harry.

"The Flame Whip Charm," said Dillon. "A rather advanced piece of magic that is very handy in duels. It acts as a normal whip, though you can control its length and intensity and it both incarcerates your opponent whilst causing extreme pain, as you have now learned first-hand. I believe Professor Dumbledore is rather adept at the charm."

"Can you teach me that?" said Harry in awe.

Dillon laughed a deep-throated laugh. "Maybe next time, Harry. But you need to get back to Hogwarts now, it is getting late."

Dillon handed Harry his jacket and helped the young wizard into it before he handed Harry a twig, and Harry was transported back into the Headmaster's office.

Neither Dumbledore nor Fawkes were there when Harry arrived, so he wasted little time and departed from the office, heading back up to Gryffindor Tower. He wrapped his jacket closer to his body to ward off the cold air that was seeping into the castle and stabbing tendrils of icy air into Harry's chest wounds.

Entering the common room, Harry found it seemingly empty, which he was thankful for before he collapsed into the couch near the fireplace. He delicately peeled off his jacket, dropping at his feet, and gently ripped apart his now-bloodstained shirt. Harry grimaced at the angry red lines that marred his chest, blood seeping from them slowly. Harry grabbed the bottle of Dittany, but stopped when he heard someone breathing behind him.

"Harry?"

Harry quickly grabbed his jacket off the floor and covered his chest with it, before turning to see a concerned-looking Katie staring at him from behind the couch.

"What are you doing here?" asked Harry uncomfortably.

"I was studying in here and I heard you come back. What's wrong?" she asked, stepping around the chair to face Harry.

"N-nothing, go up to bed," said Harry.

"You're hurt, aren't you?" said Katie.

"I'm fine, Katie," Harry insisted.

"Let me see."

"No."

"Harry, let me see," she warned in a cool tone.

"I'm fine," he repeated.

"Harry-"

"I'M FINE!" shouted Harry, startling Katie.

She leaned back a little with a hurt expression on her face, and Harry sighed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you," apologized Harry. "It's just been a rough night."

Katie relaxed but didn't move, and Harry thought she was about to drop the subject and head up to her dorm, but she suddenly whipped out her wand and said " _Accio jacket!"_

Harry was too slow to react, and hissed angrily when he tried to grab his jacket and leaned back against the couch. Katie caught it and gasped at the sight of the ugly marks on his chest.

"What happened?" she said softly, moving closer to kneel in front of Harry.

"Rough training session with my mentor," said Harry, giving in to Katie's stubbornness.

"Is he a... you know, as well?" asked Katie, her eyes never leaving Harry's chest.

"Yeah," said Harry bluntly.

"I thought you healed fast?"

"Werecats don't heal very quickly from wounds inflicted by other werebeasts," answered Harry. "We just got a little carried away is all."

Katie smirked, but the fear and concern never left her eyes. "I hope you got in a few good licks as well?" she joked.

"Shredded his arm," Harry said proudly, but winced again as the wounds began to sting again.

Katie leaned forward and extended her hand, tracing the four cuts with her forefinger, but never touching them. She was close enough to Harry that he could feel her warm breath blowing over his naked torso, and he found the action of her tracing the wounds oddly intimate. Katie's eyes followed the wounds up to Harry's face until they locked on with his, and Harry was stunned to see the raw emotion pouring out of her brown eyes.

Katie shifted and sat up straighter until she was level with Harry.

"Does it hurt?" she whispered.

"Like you wouldn't believe," admitted Harry just as quietly.

His heart was beating rapidly in time with Katie's, and her pupils had dilated dramatically. She leaned in a little closer, and Harry copied her action. Her warm, fresh-smelling breath drifted over Harry's face and he closed his eyes, lost in the sweet, intoxicating scent of the girl in front of him. He had never noticed before, but Katie smelled of honey and oak, and Harry found himself addicted to the smell.

Harry opened his eyes and saw Katie staring at him intently, her eyes never blinking. Harry felt himself inexplicably drawn to her, and he leaned in closer until he was mere centimetres from Katie. Harry couldn't deny it any longer, he fancied Katie. But what he felt for her was so much stronger compared to his former feelings for Cho. That didn't even compare to what he was feeling right now, almost like a small cup of water next to a full bucket.

Harry leaned in further towards Katie, and she closed her eyes just as Harry's lips were a millimeter from hers...

The portrait door opened just then and Harry and Katie quickly pulled back quickly, Katie shifting all the way back until she was sitting upon the coffee table before them. Harry looked over his shoulder and saw an exhausted-looking Ron and Hermione walk into the common room, having returned from their patrols as prefects. Hermione was the first to spot Harry and Katie, and narrowed her eyes at them suspiciously.

"What are you two doing up so late?" asked Hermione.

"Just got back from training," grunted Harry, trying his best to appear casual.

"And you?" Hermione rounded on Katie.

"I was studying and heard Harry come back. I was just looking over his injuries," said Katie in a steady voice that surprised Harry.

Hermione stopped glaring at the two and quickly rushed over to Harry, gasping at the sight of the red lines running down his chest.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"We got a bit carried away," said Harry.

" _Carried away?!"_ repeated Hermione shrilly.

"We let our instincts get the better of us," reiterated Harry.

Hermione huffed and snatched the bottle Harry was holding out of his hand. "Essence of Dittany?" she asked.

Harry nodded his head.

"Blimey Harry. Aren't you supposed to have healed by now?" said Ron.

"He doesn't heal as fast from wounds caused by other werebeasts," snapped Hermione as she began dropping little drops of the potion on Harry's chest. Harry grunted as the stinging intensified, then settled down again as the wounds slowly closed up. It was definitely more unpleasant than healing normally, or rather as normal as was for Harry.

"Well _sorry_ for forgetting!" said Ron angrily.

"Honestly Ron, if you forget that your best friend is a werecat then-"

"Give it a break Hermione," cut in Harry tiredly. "It's been a long night for all of us."

Hermione scowled, but said no more as she continued to apply more of the Dittany to Harry's chest until there was nothing left but ugly pink lines that jutted out slightly from the rest of Harry's toned and muscular chest. The lines only added to the growing mural of scars that covered his body along with the bite marks from Dillon back in Harry's fourth year.

Harry sighed in relief as the pain faded away, and he stood up, grabbing his jacket and ruined shirt. "Thanks Hermione," he said gratefully. He looked at Katie, who appeared to be avoiding trying to meet his gaze. "Thank you Katie," he said, desperately wanting her to look up at him.

"You're welcome Harry," she mumbled, and Harry's face fell.

He nodded his head and bid the two girls goodnight before following Ron up to bed. Once back in the dormitory, Harry stripped off his shoes and trousers and put on his pajamas. He plopped down on the bed and stared up at the top of his four poster bed. He heard Ron settle into his bed as well.

"Ron?" whispered Harry.

"Yeah mate?" replied Ron tiredly.

"Er... how do you know if you fancy a girl?"

There was a brief moment of silence before Ron answered.

"I dunno. I guess it's different for everybody. Why?"

"I... I think I might fancy Katie."

Harry heard Ron's sudden intake of breath and the rustling of his bedsheets as he sat up.

"Blimey mate, really?" said Ron incredulously.

"I think so, but I'm not sure. I'm not good at this whole 'feelings' thing," said Harry.

"Well I can't help you there. The only girl I've ever liked is-" Ron paused suddenly. "But I think you should talk to Padfoot about this sort of thing," he finished.

Padfoot, _of course!_

"Bloody hell, I didn't think of that. Thanks Ron!" said Harry, feeling excited despite the exhaustion that was quickly overtaking him, and he fell asleep quickly.

 _A/N- I think it's time I answered some of my dear reviewers' questions!_

 _ **daithi4377-**_ _A lot of the questions you ask are answered in the canon novels, although you did ask a great question in regards to Harry's Patronus. It's simple; Harry's Patronus remains a stag and not a lion like you suggested is because he doesn't see himself as his own guardian. Rather, he still does and probably always will see his father as his personal guardian. Also in regards to Fred and George's lifetime ban, this is Umbridge we're talking about. She's worse than Snape when it comes to nepotism, especially towards known supporters of Harry Potter._

 _ **AnimeA55Kicker-**_ _You've made some interesting predictions which I like. You'll just have to wait and see what happens to Umbitch, but I can promise that it won't be pretty. And yes, the reason why I had Harry take so long to heal from his Quidditch injuries is because his healing factor is a lot less powerful in his human form compared to his beast form. Remeber, Dillon told Harry that he could be stabbed in the chest with a sword and heal a few seconds later. And Katie also told Harry that there was a pretty likely chance that Harry would have never woken up again if it weren't for his healing factor (which she knows about). If he got hit by that Bludger and fell of his broom while in his beast form, I'm sure that Harry would have simply growled in annoyance while his bones mended and maybe feel a little light-headed for a few seconds. Although let's face it. I'm pretty confident that a Bludger wouldn't do much more than annoy a nine-foot tall werecat._

 _ **Guest who hath no name-**_ _I actually have to disagree with you on Harry's beast form's height. I think that nine feet is a perfect height to show of the sheer power and ferocity that a werecat possesses. Six feet is way too small. I'm six feet tall and although I'm taller than a lot of people I know personally, there are a lot of people out there who are six feet._

 _ **Zazarin-**_ _Thank you I think werecats are badass too!_

 _ **jslee102-**_ _You must remember that the up until this point the Order of the Phoenix and Hermione only thought that werecats were a myth, even in the wizarding world so they ruled out that possibility if they even considered it. I like to think that whatever bit Harry they assumed was just some variation of a werewolf._

 _ **EmeraldGuardian7-**_ _Well thanks! I actually was considering having Umbridge ban Harry anyway for some stupid reason like a dangerous Wronski Feint or his head is too damaged to play, but I decided to deviate from canon a little more here and have him keep playing while Fred and George are banned. On why Harry keeps denying his growing feelings for Katie I thought that Harry would be comparing what he was feeling towards Katie to what he felt with Cho. As we all know Harry isn't used to displays of affection and I made it so that Harry thinks that you have to be really shy and constantly embarrassing yourself around a girl for it to be counted as a crush. As we all know (hopefully) there are many different ways that people react around their crushes. Some are really shy (Harry with Cho, Ginny with Harry) or become extremely confident and try to show off (James with Lily). Some decide to constantly fight with their crush (Ron and Hermione). With Harry, his growing crush towards Katie makes him feel a lot more comfortable around her and wanting to seek her out, and the same can be said with Katie towards Harry, similar to how Harry acted around Ginny when he fancied her in the Half-Blood Prince. The thing I'm trying to communicate here is that Harry only recognises one form of a crush and doesn't know how to react towards Katie really, or even act on his feelings._

 _Anyway I hope I've answered your questions adequately and you continue to enjoy this story!_


	17. Chapter 17-Avoid the Mistletoe

A/N- A thousand pardons for the delay.

Chapter 17- Avoid the Mistletoe!

When Sirius' finally replied to Harry regarding his 'girl trouble', he was not expecting a face to face meeting. He was sitting in the common room with Ron and Hermione late at night, and everyone had gone to bed, when the fireplace started to make a hissing noise.

"What was that?" said Ron from where he lay on the couch.

"What was what?" asked Hermione as she looked up from her thick Ancient Runes textbook.

Harry, despite his enhanced hearing, hadn't heard the hissing initially because he had been so absorbed in his problems with Katie. But he heard it the second time, and he recognised it.

"Sirius?" he called out quietly before going over to the fire. Ron and Hermione got down on their knees on either side of him, both just as curious as he was. The flames flared up briefly before settling down again, but this time, the unmistakeable face of Harry's godfather was there.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione, good to see you all!" greeted Sirius cheerfully.

"Shh! People might hear you!" hissed Harry before he looked over his shoulder to make sure nobody else was around.

"Right, sorry," said Sirius, "but I imagine your super hearing would pick up anybody coming, right?"

"I suppose," muttered Harry. "Have you heard anything about Voldemort yet?"

"Still nothing," sighed Sirius. "But we think that their might be a few high-ranking ministry officials who have been put under the Imperius Curse, but we haven't got any confirmation on that yet. Kingsley and Arthur are working on that right now.

"Anyway, I got your letter today," said Sirius, "you weren't very specific about anything but what was it you wanted to talk about? Is Umbridge up to something again?"

"Erm..." Harry glanced at his two friends next to him awkwardly. Their curious expressions only made him feel bad for what he was about to say to them. But gratefully Sirius seemed to pick up on Harry's distress and cleared his throat.

"Um, I'm sorry Ron and Hermione, but I think Harry wants to talk to me alone," he said.

"What?" Ron and Hermione said at the same time incredulously.

"Don't you trust us?" asked Hermione in a hurt voice.

"No! It's not that, it's uh..." stammered Harry.

To the surprise of everyone, it was Ron who spoke up.

"I think Harry wants to talk about some stuff that only a father-figure can handle," he said knowingly. For the first time, Harry was grateful that he had told his best friend about his predicament.

"But I-" began Hermione.

"Come on, we can finish our homework in the morning," said Ron as he stood up and grabbed his bag. "Plus I reckon Harry will tell us when he's ready."

Harry mouthed out a thank you to Ron as the redhead led Hermione away before turning back to his godfather. But to his shock and annoyance, Sirius was grinning.

"What?" asked Harry.

"I know where this is going," answered Sirius gleefully, "you've got the same look on your face James had whenever he wanted my help in trying to win your mother over."

Harry sighed and ran his fingers through his dark hair. "Is it really that obvious?" he sighed.

"Only to people who knew your father as well as I did," said Sirius. "So, who's the unlucky girl?"

"Unlucky? What's that supposed to mean?!" exclaimed Harry in outrage.

"Oh please, with the kind of trouble you tend to attract, she'd better be a hell of a woman," laughed Sirius.

Harry grumbled under his breath as he felt like coming to his godfather for help was beginning to be a bad idea. "Katie Bell," he said in spite of himself.

Sirius' eyes widened. "Matthew's daughter? She came around to my place a couple of times during the summer, right?" he said.

"Yeah, her," said Harry.

Sirius whistled lowly and nodded his head. "Not bad Potter, not bad at all," he said appreciatively. "But I gotta admit, I'm a little disappointed that you're not going for any red-haired girls at Hogwarts."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Harry.

"Nothing, nothing," waved off Sirius. "So, tell me about her."

"Well, there's not much to tell about really- what?" Harry paused at Sirius' disbelieving look.

"Harry, if Katie Bell wasn't much to talk about I seriously doubt you would fancy her," drawled Sirius.

Harry sighed. "Fine. She loves Quidditch and is brilliant at it too. She's one of the Chasers for Gryffindor too."

"A Gryffindor, that's good to know," said Sirius thoughtfully.

"She's really smart and funny too. She was one of the first people to come out and believe me when I told everyone about Voldemort's return. Up until this year, we weren't exactly friends, more like acquaintances. But since her dad joined the Order and with her coming to Grimmauld Place all the time, I guess we just got closer." Harry paused. "But I'm not even sure if I fancy her. It could just be me being an idiot."

"Well, how do you feel when you're around her?" asked Sirius.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"I mean emotionally and mentally, how are you when you're with her?"

"I..." Harry paused again. This was something he had never thought about before. What was it that made someone know when they liked someone else?

"I feel happy when I'm with her," said Harry finally.

"Whoa, from what I've been hearing, you're hardly ever happy these days," said Sirius.

"But that's not what having a crush on somebody feels like, doesn't it?" asked Harry disbelievingly. "I mean, aren't you supposed to get butterflies in your stomach and feel really nervous all the time?"

"Not really," answered Sirius. "It's different with everyone I think. Some get nervous, others find being with the person they like as natural as breathing. But if you do have butterflies or get really nervous around Miss Bell, then those feelings will probably go away in time."

"I don't feel that," said Harry. "I don't know I just... I feel comfortable when I'm with her, like I can be myself around her." He didn't mention that it was because of her that he was getting greater control over his more primal side.

"Oh boy, it sounds like you got it bad," chuckled Sirius. "Have you done anything about it yet? Does she know you fancy her?"

"Well..." began Harry. "The other day, Katie and I sort of had a... moment, between ourselves."

"Did this moment have anything to do with a broom cupboard?" asked Sirius with a wicked grin.

"What? No! We were in the common room!" exclaimed Harry.

"Oh my goodness, you did it in the common room?" cackled Sirius. "Even I wasn't so reckless. You are a true Gryffindor indeed!"

"Will you please let me finish?!" snapped Harry angrily. Sirius sobered up, but the grin did not disappear from his face. This was the man Mum and Dad chose to look after me? Harry thought incredulously.

"Anyway," he continued, "I got hurt during my last training session with my new mentor, so he sent me back to Hogwarts a little earlier than usual. When I got back to the common room I tried to heal myself, but Katie found me there and wanted to help."

"And then?" pressed Sirius eagerly.

"And then I think we almost kissed," answered Harry.

"Almost kissed? What do you mean you almost kissed?!" demanded Sirius.

"I don't know! We were so close but then Ron and Hermione came!" replied Harry. "I'm just as confused about all this as you are you know!"

"Well, I think we've learned two things from this," said Sirius. "Firstly, Ron and Hermione have the worst timing in the history of worst timing, and secondly, Katie Bell likes you back."

"What do you mean she likes me back?" asked Harry in surprise. "We didn't kiss!"

"Did she lean forward? Was she trying to stop you from kissing her?" asked Sirius.

"Well, no but-"

"Then she likes you," finished Sirius.

"I doubt it now," grumbled Harry. "She hasn't talked to me at all since that night. I think I might have ruined things somehow."

"Oh Harry, you still have so much to learn about the fairer sex," said Sirius. "Have you tried talking to her?"

"She won't talk to me."

"But have you tried initiating the conversation?"

"I- no."

"Well, there's your problem," sighed Sirius. "Talk to her when you have the chance. Try to find common ground with her and then build your relationship from that. It'll all work out."

"How do you know that?" asked Harry seriously.

"Please, you're looking at the guy who helped the two most stubborn people on the planet after you hook up," boasted Sirius.

"Who was that?"

"Your parents."

Strangely, that helped Harry feel a lot better.

oOoOoOo

Despite his efforts after his conversation with Sirius, over the next few weeks, Harry noticed that Katie was practically avoiding him. It was difficult, what with their social circles coming together so often because of Quidditch, the D.A. and their mutual friends, yet somehow neither Harry nor Katie had spoken a word to each other. Harry was constantly at a loss over what to do with his newfound fancy of Katie, because whenever he tried to corner her, she always had an excuse to escape.

It was maddening for Harry to try and figure out how girls worked. Seriously, why did they always travel in groups? Was there some sort of unspoken code that all girls followed and had never revealed to men? Harry was going crazy trying to solve the puzzle!

But with the November making way for December and the Christmas season, the castle began to be decorated in the splendid Christmas decorations all over. Floating baubles flittered through the corridors, enormous trees decorated with baubles and lights lined the Great Hall, and the suits of armour had been charmed to sing off-key renditions of popular Christmas carols. Though that quickly became annoying for everyone and Harry had brutally torn apart one particularly nosy suit after it tried following him into the boy's bathroom ("How rude!" it had exclaimed when it's head had been punched off its shoulders).

Harry had gotten a detention for that after Umbridge caught him doing it.

One day, as Harry was walking with Ron and Hermione into the Great Hall for breakfast, he was startled by a scream that made him jump up into the air like a frightened cat.

"What the hell?!" he roared angrily as his hand automatically reached into his pocket for his wand. However, he saw no immediate threat except for a group of third year girls looking at him with wide eyes. One of them had been pushed forward from the group to stand directly in front of Harry, and her eyes were wide open comically and her cheeks red with embarrassment. Harry was confused for a long moment, wondering if this particular girl was frightened over the fact that he was famous, or that he was currently being demonized by the Daily Prophet.

That was until he looked up and groaned loudly. Directly above Harry and the girl, a mistletoe branch was hanging conveniently in the air by an invisible hand. He had seen these around the school a few times over the past few days and so far had done his best to avoid them, despite more than a few attempts by ravenous girls eager to claim they had kissed the Boy-Who-Lied. Though judging by the expression of the girl standing of him's face, she had planned this as much as Harry had, which is to say, not at all.

"I-I'm so sorry I didn't know that-" stammered the girl.

"It's fine, I believe you," assured Harry. He looked over his shoulder to Ron and Hermione, silently begging them to come save him, but they only grinned in response. Harry glared at the traitors before sighing and turning back to the girl.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"M-Morgan," the girl shakily answered.

"Well Morgan, I know you don't want to do this, and I don't to do this either, so why don't we compromise?"

"How?" asked Morgan, though Harry could tell she was curious.

Harry responded by grabbing Morgan by the hand and gently lifting it up before pressing a barely-there kiss on the back of her hand. She gasped while behind her, her friends all tittered excitedly before grabbing her and practically dragged her away into the Great Hall.

"Thank you!" Morgan called out over her shoulder earnestly before she disappeared.

"Smooth Potter," said Ron with a grin.

"Shut up," muttered Harry, though for some reason he felt good about what he did to that girl. He followed his friends into the Hall as well before sitting between Ron and- oh! Katie!

The older girl did not say anything to him, and even Harry knew that now was not the time to talk about anything, what with the crowd of people around them. But since Katie was ignoring Harry, he decided to do the same thing to her and began piling his plate with food.

Despite his effort though, Harry couldn't help but glance over at Katie out of the corner of his eyes every now and again, just to make sure she was still there. The tension between the two was so thick Harry doubted his claws could cut through it, and it was so bad that even other people could feel it. Hermione was trying to catch his eye from across the table, but Harry shook her off and silently let her know that he'd talk to her about it later. Hermione nodded and thankfully backed off before falling into conversation with Ron.

"That was really nice what you did to that girl," said Katie suddenly, surprising Harry.

"What?" he said.

"That girl, Morgan," emphasized Katie. "I don't know a whole lot about her but I know that she's been struggling at school for a while, self-worth issues and all that. I think you may have helped boost her confidence after that."

"I didn't know that," admitted Harry. "I was just trying to get us both out of an awkward situation."

"I know, that's why your act is even better," said Katie.

Harry could only grunt in response to that before looking away from Katie. He could see Katie's shoulders slump slightly, but before Harry could analyse that further, the bell rang for class and Katie got up quickly left the Great Hall.

Once again, Harry felt completely screwed.

oOoOoOo

The opportunity to confront Katie did not some until the second last day of term before Christmas holidays, which was also conveniently the same day as their final D.A. meeting. The class had progressed extremely well through the basic defensive spells, and Harry thought it would be a good time to start moving on to the more advanced magic. When he announced that at the start of the new term they would be moving on to Patronus Charms, the whole class had cheered and began to excitedly chatter amongst themselves about what kind of form their charm would take. Harry didn't have the heart to tell them that it would take months, even years before most of them would be able to conjure a corporeal Patronus.

As Harry concluded the final D.A. session before the break, he spotted Katie towards the back of the Room of Requirement. He locked eye with her, trying to will her to understand, because he might not get another chance to talk to her until after the break. Her eyebrows furrowed together, confused as to why, so while everyone was talking to each other, he pushed past the students and made his way over to her, dodging past Ginny and Luna.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," echoed Katie, but Harry noticed how she didn't seem as enthusiastic.

"Can er.. can we talk once everyone's gone?" he asked quietly.

Katie hesitated. "I really need to get going..." she began.

"Please, it's really important," insisted Harry. He hoped he didn't sound too desperate, but he sure as hell wasn't gonna let her escape him again. It had taken him forever to work up this amount of courage for right now.

"Fine," sighed Katie, and she went over to one of the room's corners where a wall of photos had appeared. Harry waited until everyone had cleared out, but noticed that Ron and Hermione were lingering at the door.

"Go, I'll catch up," said Harry, giving his friends a tight smile. Ron didn't question it, probably having already guessed what was about to happen, though Hermione frowned thoughtfully, but she followed Ron out of the Room of Requirement.

Harry let out a deep, quiet breath before going over to Katie. She ignored him though when he stopped next to her, as her gaze was drawn to the photos on the wall.

"These are some nice pictures," commented Katie quietly.

It had been Colin Creevey's idea to make a pic collage of themselves, as well as family and friends including those lost in the previous war against Voldemort. Many of the photos came directly from the other kids, though some were supplied by the Room of Requirement itself, used from old Daily Prophet articles. Harry recognised a few familiar faces, including an old photo of his own parents who smiled and waved at him with adoration in their eyes.

In the very middle though was a photo of Cedric Diggory, looking young and naive as ever. Harry recognised it instantly; it was one of the mugshots that got sent to the Daily Prophet to announce the contestants of last year's Triwizard Tournament. The photo sent a new wave of sadness through Harry, but once again reaffirmed his reasons why he was fighting back against Voldemort.

"They are," agreed Harry.

"I know why you want to talk to me," said Katie. "It's about that night."

"It is." Gosh, now that Harry was finally in this situation he didn't know what to say.

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," suggested Katie.

"No, I do, I just don't know how to say what I want to say," said Harry.

Katie sighed and finally turned herself away from the picture wall so that she was facing Harry. "Harry, I just want to say how sorry I am for that awkward situation that night," she began, "I wasn't thinking and I could have hurt you, but I'm so sorry and I promise i won't do it again."

Wait, what? Sirius had told him that Katie liked him back, now she was saying that she actually wasn't?

"I-" he stuttered out stupidly. It was almost like his mind refused to connect with his tongue.

"I should get going Harry, I'll see you after the break," said Katie and she hefted her bag over her shoulder and began to walk away.

"Wait, wait!" called out Harry as he made to follow her.

"I think it's best if we forget what happened Harry!" said Katie forcefully without stopping.

"What if I don't want to forget?!" he blurted at her, his voice echoing through the room.

Katie stopped in her tracks at that, though she didn't turn back around. Harry took it as a sign that she was listening and continued.

"What if I don't want to forget that night?" he repeated, quieter now. "It's been on my mind every second and I don't want to forget, mostly because I wish we had kept going."

Damn it, even to his own ears that sounded stupidly tacky, but Harry wasn't going to stop now.

"I thought you were angry with me when Ron and Hermione arrived," said Katie.

"I was angry at them for interrupting, not you," corrected Harry. He took a few tentative steps towards Katie, careful not to startle her. Once he was close enough, he stretched his right hand out carefully and grabbed Katie by the shoulder, then spun her around so that he could see her face. Her cheeks had wet streaks from fallen tears down them, and her dark brown eyes her red and slightly puffy.

"I er... I like you Katie," admitted Harry. "And I don't mean I like you as a friend, I mean I like like you. I like you a lot actually."

Katie sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand before looking up at Harry. "I like you a lot too Harry," she said quietly, peering up at him through her long dark eyelashes.

Even though at this point he knew, it still surprised Harry to hear Katie say that out loud. But he smiled and allowed himself to move closer to her, and she did the same until their chests were almost touching. There was a different tension in the air now, one that was altogether more pleasant yet more frightening than other tension that had been around them in previous weeks.

"So er... will you..." began Harry. He felt unsure of how to phrase his question, but thankfully Katie seemed to catch on and she smiled.

"Yes Harry, I will go on a date with you," she said.

"Oh thank goodness," sighed Harry as relief washed over him. He looked up to silently thank whatever god was out there for this miracle when he scowled. There it was again, another offending piece of bloody mistletoe hanging directly above him, but thankfully this time he was with a girl he knew and wanted to be with.

"You've got some rotten luck Potter," giggled Katie.

"Who invented this stupid tradition?" grumbled Harry.

"I don't know, I've never been a fan of it either," said Katie with a shrug, though she still looked at him expectantly.

"Well, despite our feelings on the matter, I think we still need to uphold tradition," said Harry. He was starting to feel a lot more confident now that the air was clean between them, and he leaned forward.

"Merry Christmas Harry," whispered Katie before she locked her lips with Harry's.

Yes, Merry Christmas indeed.

oOoOoOo

"So, what was it like?" asked Ron, curiosity lighting up his whole face.

After his conversation and kiss with Katie, both had returned to the Gryffindor common room hand in hand, sneaking shy looks at each other and grinning like fools. That was how they arrived back in the common room, with Ron and Hermione waiting for Harry. Hermione was the only one surprised at the display of affection, and when Katie had gone up to her dormitory after kissing Harry on the cheek, the bushy-haired girl had all but dragged him over to the fireplace and sat him down.

Both Ron and Hermione had interrogated Harry on his developing relationship with Katie for about twenty minutes, and by the end of it Harry had been left absolutely exhausted.

"It was er... wet," answered Harry.

"Wet?" repeated Ron with a mildly confused and disgusted look on his face.

"Well, she'd been crying a little bit before because she thought she had ruined things with me, but she wasn't crying at the time I kissed her," explained Harry. "It was actually rather... nice?"

"This is your first ever kiss Harry and all you have to say about it was that it was wet and nice?" said Hermione incredulously.

"I mean, I liked it a lot," reiterated Harry. "It felt, really good."

"Okay, so Harry finally manned up and kissed the girl he liked," said Ron happily.

"What do you mean, finally?" asked Hermione as her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"It hasn't been obvious to you that Harry's been spending a lot more time with Katie?" said Ron.

"I thought that was just because she'd been at Grimmauld Place a lot over the summer," said Hermione, "and she's been around all of us a lot more. I didn't think it had anything to do with the fact that she and Harry fancied each other!"

"I'm right here," grumbled Harry.

"Right, sorry," said Hermione, though to Harry it didn't seem like she was.

"So, are you two dating?" asked Ron.

"Um, I think so," answered Harry, "I asked her out on a date for the next time we go to Hogsmeade and she said yes."

"My man," laughed Ron, and he extended a fist towards Harry, and they bumped their fists together.

"Boys, honestly," sighed Hermione. "So do you know what you want to do?"

"Erm... no," said Harry, "I was actually hoping you might help me with that."

"Me?" said Hermione. "Why me?"

"Because you're a girl and you know what girls like," said Harry.

"I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not exactly like most other girls," pointed out Hermione.

"She right mate, you'd be better off asking someone like- OW!" Ron yelped when Hermione punched him in the arm hard.

"How could you be so insensitive?!" hissed Hermione.

"I didn't mean it like that! I was just pointing something out!" defended Ron. He rubbed his sore arm for a moment, glaring at the girl before turning back to Harry. "You could always ask Ginny, she's got experience with this sort of thing."

Harry heard the muttered, "And not for lack of trying," that came after that sentence, which made Harry smile slightly.

"I think maybe you're right," he conceded. "I'll talk to Ginny about it after everyone's gone."

"Is Katie not staying at Hogwarts?" asked Hermione.

Harry shook his head. "She's going home," he said.

"Damn, that's a shame," said Ron in a surprising display of understanding. "But at least you'll see her when she gets back, right?"

"And there's tomorrow as well," added Hermione.

That's true, thought Harry. He was going to look forward to seeing Katie again.


	18. Chapter 18- Instinct

**Chapter 17- Instinct**

 _Harry dreamed that night that he was in the Room of Requirement with Katie. He thought that she had an ethereal beauty about her, far more than she did in real life. But she looked angry, at she was glaring at him._

 _"Why won't you let me ride your Firebolt?!" she screamed. "You promised me!"_

 _Behind her, Hermione was shaking her bushy head with a disappointed look on her face, while next to her, Ron was swinging a cluster of shrunken house elf heads on a piece of rope like it was a morning star, screaming, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"_

 _The dream changed..._

 _Harry slithered along the ground, feeling his body move with a flexibility he didn't now he possessed. His head was low to the ground, his chin occasionally grazing the cold, hard black tiles. He felt excitement, but somehow he knew it wasn't his own excitement he was feeling. It was more like how one felt when they saw somebody else be excited. Yet Harry felt certain of where he was meant to be going, certain he had to retrieve the item for his master._

 _But wait, Harry had no master. He was fifteen years old and with no legal guardian outside of the Dursleys, but even they wouldn't stoop so low as to call Harry their slave, right? This was a very strange dream indeed. He continued to glide along the floor towards a door, one which seemed vaguely familiar to him. Had he seen it before? Maybe he was getting a sense of deja vu within his dream._

 _Harry stuck out his tongue, and he could taste the air, as well as an unfamiliar scent that was mixed with drowsiness and sweat._

 _He spotted somebody in the distance. He couldn't make out the exact details, but it was a man with a robust body and he was sitting on some kind of camping chair in front of the door, his head bowed . He was holding a wand, its tip glowing with a white light that hurt Harry's eyes slowly as he moved closer._

 _The strange urge to attack the man came over Harry, and he felt his boil begin to boil with excitement at the prospect of a meal. But he also realised that he had a more important job to do. One missing man would be very hard for his superiors to explain away._

 _He tried to move past the man quietly, but the scent of warm blood pumping through living tissue made Harry's mouth water. He paused, flicked out his tongue again to taste the air, then turned back around to stare at the man. He couldn't see his face properly, but he had a head of thinning red hair and wore secondhand robes the colour of silver. He seemed familiar to Harry, but he couldn't be sure._

 _Harry stopped himself however when he was mere inches from the man. He was conflicted. On one hand he wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into the man's soft flesh and tear him to pieces just to eliminate a potential threat, but the more human side of him knew that the man was a friend. His mind was warring with itself, and Harry lurched backwards as he tried to pull himself away from the man, accidentally slamming into the wall to his right with a loud crack. The man started in his chair, his wand raised and he let out a yelp in surprise just as Harry recognised him._

 _"Mr Weasley!" Harry tried to shout, but all that came out was a snakelike hiss._

 _"What the-?!" yelled Mr Weasley before he fired a curse at Harry. To his surprise the curse bounced off his body and shot away, smashing into the black tiled wall sending debris flying everywhere._

 _Harry whirled around in anger and shock, accidentally knocking Mr Weasley into the door behind him. The redheaded man got up shakily, keeping his wand trained on Harry. Harry felt himself lose control as he hissed at Mr Weasley before striking out at him. Harry felt his teeth sink into Mr Weasley's shoulder and tasted blood in his mouth as the two crashed together into the door, and it shook violently. When they both fell to the ground with a loud thud that echoed through the dark hallway, and Harry raised his head and struck again, but Mr Weasley smashed him with something he had pulled from his pocket made out of glass over the head, temporarily stunning him. Harry pulled back angrily and Mr Weasley fired another spell at him, but it again bounced off his body and flew harmlessly away._

 _Harry bit into Mr Weasley's arm again, drawing more blood and the man screamed in pain. No, no no! screamed Harry, trying to stop himself from killing his best friend's father, but he attacked again and again until the man had ceased his resistance, and he slumped backwards against the wall, blood pooling around them both, and the scent of iron filled Harry's nostrils like an addictive drug. There was a fallen piece of glass near the now-unconscious Mr Weasley which caught Harry's attention, and when he looked closer he saw a bright green eye with a vertical slit taring back at him._

 _His forehead hurt terribly... like somebody had decided to jam a rusty knife right through it and peel his skin off the flesh..._

Harry woke up with a start, clammy with sweat and shivering violently. He was aware that someone was holding onto his arms and shaking him, and muffled voices reached his ears. His bed covers were twisted and wrapped around him tightly, preventing him from moving too much, but his forehead continued to sear with a burning pain unlike anything he'd felt.

"Harry, Harry!" shouted a familiar voice. He saw a blurry shape hover over him before a hand slammed his glasses onto his face, and the shape materialised into Ron's worried and frightened face.

The pain was blinding Harry, and he clutched his head in his hands, pushing hard to stop the agony, but it wasn't working.

"Ron! Your Dad! He's in trouble!" gasped Harry.

"It's alright mate, it was just a dream!" said Ron quickly, trying to hold Harry down. But the raven-haired boy was too strong and he shoved Ron off of him before stumbling out of bed, shredding through his bed covers like they weren't even there. He fell face-first onto the wooden floor, grunting with the impact before he tried to push himself up, but his strength was being sapped away by the pain in his forehead.

"Need to get to-" Harry didn't finish what he was saying, because he felt acid come up his throat, and the leaned forward and vomited all over the floor, bringing up last night's dinner for everyone to see.

"Gosh!" exclaimed Dean Thomas as he jumped onto his bed to avoid the vomit.

"We need to get him to the hospital wing," said Ron before he and Neville both attempted to lift Harry up.

"No, we have to go to Dumbledore," said Harry desperately. "Your dad's in danger!"

"I'm going to find a teacher," Harry heard Neville mutter before there was the sound of footsteps that left the dormitory.

"It was just a dream!" snapped Ron.

"It wasn't! We need to find Dumbledore!" insisted Harry, now starting to feel angry. He knew it wasn't a dream, he knew it. Mr Weasley was in danger, and someone had to help him. The amount of panic he was feeling was beginning to make him hyperventilate, and he crouched forward on his knees, his arms wrapped around his middle as he tried to suck in air.

"Easy mate, just breathe," said Ron shakily, rubbing circles over Harry's back to try and comfort him. It helped a little, but Harry knew that something was indeed very wrong. He forced himself not to throw up again, but the pain was half-blinding him.

Harry heard the dormitory door open, followed by the voice of Neville saying, "he's over there Professor."

Harry looked up to see Professor McGonagall, with her hair down and wearing a bed robe while holding her wand.

"Goodness gracious! Potter, are you alright?" exclaimed Professor McGonagall.

"It's Ron's dad, he's been attacked!" yelled Harry.

Professor McGonagall's face turned stern. "Now, Mister Potter, I don't want you to trouble yourself with-" she began.

"He's on duty tonight, isn't he?" Harry interrupted, and he felt a grim sense of satisfaction when McGonagall's face looked surprised.

"How did you know?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"I saw it in happen!" roared Harry. "I was asleep and then I was there-"

"You mean you dreamed this?"

"No!" shouted Harry angrily. Didn't anybody understand the real issue here? "I was dreaming about something stupid, but then this interrupted it. It was real, I know it was! He was attacked by a giant snake, he's bleeding out!"

Professor McGonagall looked horrified by everything Harry had just told her, and she didn't say anything for a long time.

"I'm not lying, I swear!" Harry told her furiously.

"I believe you, Potter," said Professor McGonagall, which pulled Harry up short, his anger melting away as quickly as it came. "Mr Weasley, do you think you can carry him?"

"Yes Professor," answered Ron.

"We must leave, immediately," said McGonagall before she spun around and departed, her bed robe trailing behind her.

Harry felt Ron's arms lift him up from off the ground before practically dragging him out of the dormitory. He felt the strength return to his legs, and forced himself to carry his own weight underneath him. Ron didn't let go however, yet frankly Harry was far too exhausted to resist. Professor McGonagall was waiting for them at the exit of the common room, holding the portrait door open with a worried expression on her face.

Harry barely recalled the trio making their way through the twisting corridors of Hogwarts. Everything was a blur, and he couldn't stop the shivering caused by his sweaty body being exposed to the cold winter. At this rate, Harry might catch a cold, but right now he was far more concerned about something else entirely.

"Students out of bed!" screamed the voice of Argus Filch, and Harry was aware of the gaunt man holding a lantern while charging towards them. At his feet the dreaded cat Mrs Norris was trailing behind, her bright red eyes alight with glee at the prospect of catching students.

"Oh for heaven's sake Argus they're with me!" snapped McGonagall angrily before pushing the batty caretaker away, leaving the outraged man behind.

The gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office moved out of the way when Professor McGonagall said, "Fizzing Whizzbee." The three climbed up the winding staircase as quickly as they could. Harry could hear multiple voices coming from inside, as though Dumbledore was talking to a whole audience of people. McGonagall rapped on the griffin knocker three times, and the commotion inside ceased immediately. The door opened of its own accord, allowing them inside.

"Oh, it's you, Professor McGonagall... and... ah," said Dumbledore from his desk, a look of mild surprise on his face at the unexpected arrivals. Fawkes was resting on his perch, but the fiery bird looked up at the newcomers with his beady black eyes.

Professor Dumbledore, however, was staring fixedly on Professor McGonagall, and it was her who began speaking first.

"Professor Dumbledore, Potter has had a... well, a nightmare," she said. "He says he..."

"It wasn't a nightmare," said Harry quickly.

Professor McGonagall gave Harry a pointed look, frowning lightly, but she sighed.

"I think you should tell the Headmaster about it," she said.

"I was asleep," said Harry, and even though he was scared, tired and desperate, he could see that Dumbledore was doing his best to avoid looking at him, which was annoying him. Harry thought they'd gotten past this already? "But it wasn't an ordinary dream. It was real, I saw it happen..." when he realised he was starting to ramble, Harry took a deep breath, "Ron's dad- Mr Weasley- has been attacked by a giant snake."

"How did you see this?" asked Dumbledore quietly, still not looking at Harry.

"I what? I don't know," said Harry angrily. "Probably inside my head I suppose..."

"You misunderstand me," said Dumbledore in that calm tone that was beginning to annoy Harry a lot now. He could feel the beast beginning to stir. "I mean, can you remember where you were positioned as you saw these events unfold? Were you standing to the side, or looking down on the scene?"

Harry gaped at Dumbledore, because it seemed almost as though he knew the answer to that question already.

"I was the snake," he answered, "I saw it all from the snake's point of view."

From the corner of his eyes, Harry could see Ron's face turn white as a sheet before he stammered out, "Is he okay?"

"No," said Harry emphatically. "He was bleeding a lot when I woke up."

Dumbledore nodded before standing up so quickly Harry jumped and his claws popped out of their own accord. The older wizard began walking around, speaking to a few of the portraits of the previous Headmasters to make plans. A few of them left their portraits, going somewhere Harry could not see before Dumbledore walked over to Fawkes and muttered something. Harry could have sworn the bird nodded before it disappeared in a flash of fire.

Harry continued to watch Dumbledore incredulously as he continued on his way, tinkering with one of his strange lensed instruments like one of his friends hadn't just been brutally attacked. Harry was getting angrier and angrier by the second, and he was having a hard time reining in the beast. But did he really want to keep it under control?

One of the portraits returned, bearing news that only Harry seemed surprised by: they had found a man covered in blood laying unconscious. The other portrait, a witch returned not long after, saying that the man had already been admitted into the emergency rooms at St Mungo's Hospital.

"Minerva, I need you to go and alert the other Weasley children," said Dumbledore.

"Of course," said Professor McGonagall, before she got up and headed towards the door, sparing Ron a pitiful look, who looked absolutely terrified. Harry felt sorry for his friend, but right now there was nothing to do but wait until Professor McGonagall returned with the others.

They did not have to wait for more than ten minutes, in which during that time Dumbledore made himself busy by creating a portkey out of an old kettle and continuing to ignore Harry's pointed looks. Eventually, Fred, George and Ginny appeared with Professor McGonagall, still in their night things and looking dishevelled and shocked.

"Harry, what's going on?" asked Ginny. Harry noted that she looked the most frightened of them all. "Professor McGonagall says you saw Dad get hurt-"

"Your father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix," said Dumbledore before Harry could speak, as though he was the one who saw the attack happen. "He has been taken to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I'm sending you back to Sirius' house, which for the time being is far more safer and more convenient than the Burrow. You will meet your mother there."

"How are we going to get there? Floo powder?" asked Fred, looking pale.

"Floo powder is not safe at the moment, the Network is being watched. You will all be arriving there via portkey." He indicated to the old kettle on his desk. "We are just waiting for Phineas to report back... I just want to make sure the coast is clear before sending you-"

There was a flash of flame in the very middle of the office, leaving behind a single golden feather that floated gently to the floor.

"That is Fawkes's warning," said Dumbledore, catching the feather as it fell. "Professor Umbridge must know that you are out of your beds-"

The mention of Harry's most hated teacher threw him over the edge, and before he could even react, he had turned into his enormous black lion form, shredding his clothes into rags, and all hell broke loose. Ginny screamed, the twins fell backwards against the chairs that had been conjured by Professor McGonagall, Ron yelled out in fright and jumped out of the way, and Dumbledore nimbly moved behind his desk, away from Harry's long claws.

The Headmaster's office was large enough that Harry's enormous form was able to move around comfortably, yet to him it felt like the walls were closing in around him, agitating his already-frazzled senses into overdrive. He let out a massive roar that shook the portraits hanging on the walls and the books in their shelves, while the Weasleys and two teachers covered their ears with their hands.

"Harry, calm down!" yelled Ron before he had to duck under Harry's thick, muscular arm to avoid having his head taken off accidentally.

"I can't!" said Harry in that deep, growly voice of his lion form. His tail swished violently, knocking some books off Dumbledore's desk onto the stone floor.

"What the hell happened to him?!" shrieked Ginny.

"He's a were-lion!" said Ron loudly.

"I can't breathe... I can't breathe..." gasped Harry desperately. He crouched down, his claws creating long scratches in the stone floor as he tried to get himself under control. He could feel the long, thick fur on the back of his neck stick up, his ears flattened to show that he was both scared and angry.

"Harry, you need to calm down," urged Dumbledore, but he lurched backwards when Harry growled menacingly at him.

"I'm trying!" he snarled, his voice gaining a prominent growl to it that only made him even more terrifying. His scar was throbbing painfully, even in his lion form, but it helped him to focus. Right now, he could imagine Dumbledore's heart pumping blood at a faster-than-normal rate. He wondered what it would be like to taste human blood, just once...

"Professor Umbridge will be here any second now," warned Dumbledore, "if you cannot revert to your human form Harry, then you will have to take the portkey as you are now."

"What?!" Harry, Ron, Ginny, the twins and Professor McGonagall all said at the same time.

"This needs to stay secret, especially from Professor Umbridge, now hurry!" insisted Dumbledore.

Harry let out a growl that came from deep within his chest, startling everyone again. But he reined in his temper and stretched his massive hand out to touch the portkey. Because his hand was so large, Harry had to settle for touching it with the tip of his clawed index finger so that there was room for the Weasleys to hold on to something. The moment the last person's hand touched the old kettle, Harry felt the familiar jerking behind his navel, followed by the swooshing sensation before suddenly crashing into the dining room of Grimmauld Place. Harry's larger body thumped against the table, moving it out of place and shaking the floorboards as he hit the ground. Ginny landed on top of him, and Ron and the twins fell onto the floor.

Even in his lion form, Harry hated traveling by portkey. He gently picked Ginny up from off him and set her down on the floor before standing up, but when his head hit the ceiling Harry had to crouch down slightly.

"Harry?" said a familiar voice. He spun around to see a tired-yet startled Sirius looking at him, wand hanging loosely at his side.

"Sirius," replied Harry. When he said his godfather's name, Harry realised just how tired he was. The adrenaline that had kept him awake from the moment he woke up until now was beginning to wear off, and he was beginning to feel the after effects of it. Sirius led the five teenagers into the living room, where Ginny collapsed into one of the armchairs. The twins and Sirius stayed standing, but when Ron tried to pull Harry down into the two-seater sofa, Harry refused.

"I might break the couch," he said, gesturing to his current physical state. Ron nodded but didn't laugh, and neither did the twins, which just showed how serious the situation really was.

"Your mother should be here soon," said Sirius to the Weasley kids, "she's at St Mungo's right now."

"Mum's already there?" said Fred loudly.

"We should be there too!" added George.

"Not right now!" said Sirius. "If you were to show up seconds after your father was admitted, things will start to look very suspicious."

"We don't care, it's our dad!" yelled George.

"The entire Order could be exposed if you go now!" Sirius told them vehemently.

"We don't care!" said Fred, echoing his brother's words.

"This is why you aren't allowed in the Order of the Phoenix yet, you're not mature enough!" shouted Sirius angrily.

Harry tried his best to tune out the continuing argument, instead choosing to go and lay on the carpet directly in front of the fireplace, where a fire was currently blazing softly and warming up the room. Unfortunately his large size blocked out most of the light emanating from the fire, and the living room was cast into a soft darkness, only serving to enhance the dark mood of everyone. Harry let out a deep yawn, exposing his long sharp teeth for everyone to see and catching their attention before closing his eyes.

"Actually, I want to know how Harry knew about Dad being attacked," said Fred's voice, and Harry's eyes snapped open to stare at him. The Weasleys and Sirius were all staring at him expectantly, and even though Harry didn't want to repeat what he saw, he also realised that they deserved to know.

So Harry told them of his vision, but he slightly changed it to make it seem as though he was a bystander to the whole thing instead of being the very snake that attacked Mr Weasley. Ron was giving Harry an odd look, having heard the real version, but thankfully he said nothing, seeming to understand why he chose to change things the way he did. And for good reason, because by the time he finished his tale, the twins and Ginny were giving him accusatory looks, as though he was the reason why their dad was hurt in the first place. He could only imagine their anger if he had told them the whole story, which angered Harry, because it wasn't like he was the one who had attacked Mr Weasley.

Or was he? At some point in the vision, Harry had gained control over the snake and pulled it away from Mr Weasley, which was something he had not told anyone about yet, not even Dumbledore or Ron. Why hadn't he?

As he thought about it more, Harry felt himself be overcome with grief. He had controlled the snake at some point, but was too weak to hold onto that connection and it resulted in Mr Weasley getting seriously hurt. The shame crept through him, and as he looked at his friends, he knew he couldn't tell any of them for fear that they might abandon him forever. And what would Katie think? No doubt she'd be disgusted with him and never want anything to do with him ever again.

The thought made Harry change back into a human, wearing nothing but his tattered pyjama pants and startling everyone. Ron reacted first and quickly pulled off his night robe before coming over and throwing it around Harry's shoulders, covering up his scarred body before anyone could see, but it was too late.

"Blimey Harry, what happened to you?" exclaimed Ginny, her brown eyes wide in shock.

"I think Harry's answered enough questions today, and it's been a long night for everyone," said Sirius placatingly, saving Harry from even more embarrassment. "Let's all head off to bed and get some rest for tomorrow, your rooms are already prepared and your things will be here come morning."

Everyone but Harry reluctantly obeyed and they all filed out of the living room. Sirius gave Harry a pitying look and opened his mouth to say something, but Harry waved him off. The pain in his forehead had dulled down to an uncomfortable throb, and he stood up on his own feet before shakily making his way out of the living room. Sirius hovered over him, occasionally reaching out when Harry stumbled up the stairs, and he only left him alone when Harry was settled in the room he had stayed in during the summer.

Harry didn't think he would sleep despite his exhaustion, but he closed his eyes anyway and forced himself to relax.

 _A/N- I am so sorry for the lack of updates over the past year, I have been living in Japan and simply had no time to write anything. That being said, I'm only back for a few weeks before heading back to the Land of the Rising Sun again for another year, and I doubt that I'll have any time to post any more chapters until I return this time next year. So in the meantime I'm going to be trying to update as much as I can until I leave to keep you all sated. Love you all!_


	19. Chapter 19- The Comforters

**Chapter 19- The Comforters**

Harry could not get over the shame and anger he felt after the attack on Mr Weasley. Over the past few days following regular visits to St Mungo's, Harry had been assured by just about everyone, even Mr Weasley, that nothing was his fault. But they didn't know that Harry had actually controlled the snake at some point, and that he could have prevented the attack from even happening.

Over the next three days, Harry tried his best to avoid everyone currently staying at Grimmauld Place, which consisted of the Weasleys, Sirius, Hermione and the occasional visitor from the Order of the Phoenix. He spent most of his time hiding up in the room that was housing Buckbeak, the hippogriff he and Hermione had saved in their third year at Hogwarts. Being in the presence of another beast was soothing in an sort of way for Harry, and it helped him keep his volatile emotions in check, especially when he was in his beast form. Though having two magical creatures larger than a horse cooped up in a medium-sized bedroom wasn't exactly the most comfortable living conditions, neither Harry nor Buckbeak were complaining.

four days after the incident and two days before Christmas, Harry received his first visitor. He already knew who it was, but for some reason decided to let the person in. Sirius appeared around the door, a sheepish expression on his face.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Sure, just give me a minute," said Harry. Sirius looked away when Harry transformed back into his human form so that he could put his clothes back on, and once he was done he invited Sirius over.

"How are you feeling?" asked Sirius.

"Awful," said Harry bluntly.

There was a long moment of silence before Sirius said, "You know that it wasn't your fault, right?"

"Of course it was, I saw the whole thing, I was the thing that attacked Mr Weasley," said Harry. He had divulged the truth of the vision to his godfather a few days after the attack, of how he was inside the snake's head.

"No, you weren't. You were only inside the mind of the thing that attacked him," protested Sirius, his usually cheery attitude gone now.

"But I did!" insisted Harry. "I should have done something to stop the snake!"

Nobody could understand. He knew of no one that had their mind be somewhere else, to have to sit on the sidelines and watch as horrible things happened around you, unable to do anything. But Harry _could_ have tried to do something, because in one small second during the vision, he had made the snake pause before all hell had broken loose.

"Harry, let me be clear to you right now-" began Sirius.

"No, I need to be clear with you," cut in Harry. When Sirius looked at him expectantly, Harry sucked in a deep breath, then said, "I haven't been one-hundred percent honest with everyone. When I had the dream- vision, there was a moment where the snake paused before attacking Mr Weasley.

"I think I was the one that made the snake stop. I didn't recognise Mr Weasley at first but I knew he looked familiar. I was starting to realise who he was when the snake stopped, but then I felt my mind almost get shoved out of the way and the snake started to attack Mr Weasley."

During Harry's explanation, Sirius's face had turned grim, a dark sign for Harry. The man probably thought Harry weak, unable to overcome the mind of a mere reptile, or even worse, that Harry himself had controlled the snake into hurting Mr Weasley.

"I'm so sorry Sirius," said Harry quietly when Sirius hadn't said anything. His vision was beginning to blur with unshed tears, and he tried to wipe them away discreetly.

"What are you sorry for? I still don't think any of this is your fault," replied Sirius.

"How could you say that? I can't be a good person if I let that snake attack an innocent man!" snapped Harry angrily.

Sirius wasn't fazed however. "No, the fact that you said that you didn't want to attack Arthur only confirms to me how good of a person you are Harry," he said calmly.

"Then I'm weak," insisted Harry. "I couldn't even control myself, or the snake. It just pushed me out of the way like I wasn't even there."

Sirius placed a heavy hand on Harry's shoulder and forced him to look at him. His dark eyes were more serious than Harry had ever seen them, his thin face seeming more weary than ever before.

"I want to you to understand me very clearly Harry," started Sirius. "You are not a bad person, nor are you weak. You are one of the best people I have ever met, and also one of the strongest. You've already beaten Voldemort three times in your life, and he is considered to be one of the most powerful wizards of all time, second only to Dumbledore."

"But that snake-" began Harry.

"Was probably the same snake you were seeing in your dreams last year, which means that snake was probably under Voldemort's control that night. That means for a small moment, you were able to fight Voldemort off yet again."

"It didn't do much in the end though, did it?" muttered Harry darkly.

"Actually, I think it saved Arthur's life," argued Sirius lightly. "That second's hesitation you made the snake have could have been the difference between life and death. And think of it this way Harry, Voldemort was nigh-unstoppable at the height of his powers. Not many people can say that they were able to resist a mind probe from the Dark Lord himself."

"But Sirius, what if Voldemort's trying to possess me?" asked Harry worriedly. He didn't add the fact that he was worried that he himself might be the weapon Voldemort was looking for.

"I don't think think he is," said Sirius. "But if you are worried about that, perhaps you could told to Ginny about that. She told me about her first year at Hogwarts."

 _Oh crap, of course!_ thought Harry. If anyone knew about what was happening to him, it would be the youngest Weasley. Then Harry felt bad about himself. He'd been so caught up with feeling sorry for himself that he had completely forgotten that there might be at least one person who understood what he was going through.

In some weird, kind of sickening way, the fact that he could talk to someone who might understand about this made Harry feel slightly better about himself. But that didn't quite shake the depressed feeling he was steeped in.

oOoOoOo

A few hours after Harry's talk with Sirius, there was another knock on the door, which quickly soured Harry's mood, because he had explicitly told Sirius to tell everyone that he wanted no visitors.

"I said-" he began.

"I heard, and I don't care," interrupted a familiar Scottish accent. Harry felt shocked, before he quickly stood up, reverted back into his human form before putting his clothes on and opening the door.

Standing at the doorway and towering over him in his brown dragon hide trench coat was Dillon, his golden beard thicker and his blue eyes cold and unforgiving.

"So this is where you've been hiding," he said, his eyes peering over Harry to stare at Buckbeak.

"Er... yeah," said Harry lamely in response.

"Well, I'm here to talk about some things that have come to my attention, and you're not kicking me out," said Dillon before he pushed past Harry into the room.

"Look, I'm not in the mood to hear somebody else tell me how it's not my fault that Mr Weasley got hurt. I've heard enough of that from everybody else downstairs," snapped Harry, still standing at the door.

"Oh I'm sure you are," drawled Dillon as he sat down on the edge of the bed in the centre of the bedroom, "but I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to talk about why you had such a hard time reverting back into your human form the night of the attack."

Harry paused halfway through the action of closing the door before looking back at Dillon. In all honesty he had forgotten all about that because of all the other drama that had been going on, but now that Dillon mentioned it, that was probably something very important.

"Who told you about that?" asked Harry.

"Dumbledore, as well as your friend Ronald," answered Dillon.

Harry sighed loudly. Of course Dumbledore wanted something else to happen for him, but wouldn't do himself.

"Now, first tell me everything that happened leading up to the point where you transformed," said Dillon.

So Harry began yet again. He explained the vision and the pains in his scar (which were almost constant now), how he had grown more and more frustrated while he was in the Headmaster's office because of Dumbledore's apparent disinterest in him, how at the mention of Professor Umbridge set him off, and how despite using the techniques he had learned to calm down when he did accidentally transform, nothing worked and he had only gotten worse right up until they arrived at Grimmauld Place. Throughout Harry's recollection Dillon's face remained impassive and completely devoid of emotion, which Harry had come to know was the man's calculating face when he was trying to put the metaphorical pieces of a puzzle together.

When Harry finished speaking, Dillon didn't say anything for a very long time. He remained sitting on the edge of the bed, his chin pinched between his forefinger and thumb, his eyes staring at the wall opposite him.

"Seems like you have a serious problem Potter," said Dillon after things were starting to get really awkward for Harry.

"Is that all you have to say?" asked Harry incredulously.

"Yes, it is," replied Dillon bluntly. "What else do you want me to say? _'Oh Potter, don't worry everything's going to be just fine!'_ No, this is an issue."

Harry bristled slightly, but that annoyance was quickly replaced with concern. "How bad is it?" he asked.

"The calming techniques didn't work for you when you freaked out," said Dillon. "I blame a good portion of that on the extreme circumstances you were in at the time and the... strange events of that night."

"And the other portion?" pressed Harry.

"I'm not sure yet. But it could have something to do with the fact that the calming techniques simply aren't working on you anymore."

"What does that mean?"

"It means they don't work anymore."

Harry glared at his mentor. "Well that's just great, I'm bloody broken then, aren't I? First I'm having crazy visions, now I can't even control when I transform!" he growled.

"I wouldn't say that," said Dillon thoughtfully. "Besides the obvious, has there been any recent developments in your life that may have changed things dramatically?"

Harry automatically felt himself blush at the thought of his changed relationship with Katie, in spite of the grim circumstances. Other than Ron, Hermione and Sirius, and maybe whoever Katie may have told, nobody knew about his relationship with the Gryffindor Chaser. But other than that, Harry wasn't sure if anything else had changed in his life.

"Ummm... no," he lied carefully. But Dillon didn't seem to believe him, if his raised eyebrow was any indication.

"Really. Because that girly blush on your face is telling me otherwise," said the older were-lion.

Did Harry really want relationship advice from a guy he'd only known since the start of October? He was hoping that he could talk to Sirius about it first.

"Potter just bloody tell me," said Dillon exasperatedly. "Is there a girl?"

Sometimes, Harry really hated Dillon's blunt attitude.

"Yes," he said reluctantly.

"Well, that certainly explains a lot," mused Dillon.

"What does it explain?" asked Harry.

"In the past, you have come to rely on what I've taught you to keep the beast side of you in check, or to keep you focussed," began Dillon. "But with the introduction of a potential mate, that focus has shifted from something to someone."

"I'm not- we're not-" Harry paused, feeling himself warm up at the insinuation of Dillon's use of the word 'mate'. "What do you mean?" he asked instead.

"I mean that the one thing that's helping you retain your humanity has shifted from one thing to another, in this case another person," said Dillon.

"Like an anchor of sorts?" said Harry.

"Exactly like that," affirmed Dillon. "To be fair though, you didn't really have an anchor beforehand, which is why, combined with your youth made you very volatile. With this girl, whoever she is, in your life, you'll probably be able to control your temper easier."

"But I don't understand. If anything, I've gotten worse than before," said Harry unsurely. What Dillon said made sense, but at the same time Harry's temper had only flared up even more since arriving at Grimmauld Place.

"It's only from the stress of everything that's been going on recently," Dillon waved off carelessly. "Once everything has blown over, you'll start to notice a difference."

"I doubt it," scoffed Harry. "With Umbridge trying to take over the school with all her decrees, pretty soon I might end up eating her."

"I'm not a fan of toad myself," said Dillon bitterly. Harry let out a snort of laughter, surprising both himself and Dillon.

"See? You're already feeling better," said Dillon.

"I guess," said Harry quietly, but he couldn't stop the smile from breaking out over his face.

oOoOoOo

Gradually, the old Harry began to return. As much as he enjoyed his time cooped up in the bedroom with Buckbeak, he knew that he had to start socialising with everybody, especially with Christmas just around the corner. On Christmas Eve, Harry left the room for the first time that week and headed downstairs into the dining room. His enhanced ears picked up the sounds of cheery talking and laughter, and somebody (Mrs Weasley, no doubt) was blasting Celestina Warbeck's Christmas album.

Harry peered around the corner of the entrance to into the kitchen and dining room cautiously to assess the situation. The usually drab atmosphere of Grimmauld Place had been swept aside in favour of the joyful Christmas Spirit. There were decorations everywhere, some of which were flying around magically and one of them almost clipped Harry over the head, forcing him to duck under the tiny Santa riding a Nimbus Two-Thousand. Ginny was humming along to the song currently playing as she was setting the table for lunch, Ron and Hermione were yet again arguing over the merits of S.P.E.W. (though Harry noticed that it seemed half-hearted), Sirius was magically putting up more decorations, twirling his wand around happily as he whistled to the same song, the twins were planning some sort of scheme, if their huddling in the corner was any indication. And Lupin and Tonks were engaged in a friendly conversation, and Harry noticed how relaxed Lupin seemed to be, a rare sight in itself.

"Harry!" said an excited voice, pulling the aforementioned boy out of his observations. Ginny had noticed him, with a mildly surprised but pleased expression on her face. Her exclamation gained the attention of the others, and they ceased their activities to stare at the newcomer. He gave them an awkward smile before shuffling into the large room and took a seat next to Ron and Hermione.

"Hey mate," said Ron, albeit a little awkwardly. Hermione gave Harry a tight smile.

"Hey," replied Harry. It occurred to him that he hadn't seen either of his two best friends in practically a week, and it was mostly his fault for being a self-pitiful git. "I er..."

"You don't have to explain," assured Hermione.

"Yeah, you've been through hell this past week," added Ron.

"Not to mention all year," chimed in Fred, or was it George? Harry still couldn't tell, even with his super senses. Their scents were practically the same!

"Bloody Umbridge and her stupid decrees," muttered George/Fred.

"Now, now boys, it's Christmas time, we don't want any negativity here," reprimanded Mrs Weasley as she came into the dining room with several plates of food trailing behind her in the air. She gave Harry a warm, welcoming smile before she set down the food with a flick of her wand, then came over to him and pulled him into a crushing bear hug. "How are you dear?" she asked.

"'M fine," answered Harry, though his voice sounded muffled from his face being buried into Mrs Weasley's shoulder. Mrs Weasley pulled away and gave him a look that suggested that she didn't quite believe him, but when he smiled, she smiled back and walked away.

"Well, you arrived just in time for lunch," said Mrs Weasley happily before announcing that lunch was ready. Everyone gathered around the table while Mrs Weasley began to offer up servings. Harry eagerly dug into the plate offered him, disgusting Hermione while Ron, Sirius, Lupin and the twins chuckled.

"Blimey mate, you'd think we've been starving you," laughed Ron.

"I can't help it, I'm part lion," Harry shot back easily before grabbing a chicken leg. In contrast to most meals prepared by the Weasley matriarch, this was relatively small, but Harry reckoned that was because the real feast was to be held tomorrow for Christmas Day.

The chatter around the table was idle and friendly, though Harry noted that everyone tended to avoid any topic involving anything that had happened during the week. Mostly it was about Quidditch, school, friends etc. Harry didn't mind, it was good to keep things lighthearted, especially during this festive season. Even Harry found himself smiling as the twins regaled everyone with the story of how one of their pranks on Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Katie had spectacularly backfired on them.

But then that made Harry think of Katie. Crap, he wondered if she even knew what was going on right now. He hadn't been able to see her off to the Hogwarts Express on the final day of the term with zero explanation. No doubt she was angry at him, maybe she had already called off their relationship before it could even truly develop. Gosh, Harry was terrible at relationships. The thought of that made his mood sour significantly.

As he brooded, Harry felt somebody grab his upper arm, and he looked up to see Hermione giving him a sympathetic look, as though she understood exactly what he was thinking. He offered her a weak smile before shaking his head, and Hermione nodded in understanding.

"That reminds me, when are they coming over Mum?" said Ron, and Harry caught the sideways look he gave him.

"Oh, they should be here any-" began Mrs Weasley, but she was cut off by the doorbell ringing.

"That'd be them," said Sirius cheerfully, and he winked at Harry before disappearing into the entry hall. Now Harry was starting to feel suspicious. Just what was everyone playing at? And why were they looking at him like they knew some great dirty secret?

"Ah! Welcome welcome!" Sirius's voice echoed from the hall into the dining room. Harry heard some muffled greetings in response, followed by the shuffling of feet and a thumping noise followed by a loud curse.

"Easy dear!" said a familiar voice.

"I keep tripping over that thing every time I come here!" hissed another voice, one that made Harry's heart leap in his throat. _No way..._

Sirius returned with a triumphant expression on his face as he looked at Harry, his dark eyes twinkling merrily not unlike Dumbledore's often did. And Harry soon discovered why. Following Sirius into the room was Mr and Mrs Bell, who looked really happy. Mr Bell was in a navy-blue sweater and dark jeans, while Mrs Bell had a red and green Christmas sweater on with a green scarf wrapped around her neck, and behind them...

Katie. Gosh, it had only been a week since Harry had seen her last, but it felt like forever. She was wearing a red wooly sweater and scarf with black denim shorts, and her long, dark brown hair was loose and straight, framing her face and falling down past her shoulders and back. Her brown eyes wandered around the room for a moment before landing on Harry, and the boy felt his heart rate speed up. He couldn't read what she was thinking, but it looked like she was warring with herself between being angry or worried. Harry took that as a good sign.

"Come, come!" said Sirius enthusiastically, guiding the three Bells to the table. He put Mr and Mrs Bell right next to Mrs Weasley, while telling Katie to go sit with the kids, or to be more specific, right next to Harry. She sat down quietly after taking off her scarf and sweater, revealing a black t-shirt with the Weird Sisters' logo on it before giving Harry a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Harry glared at his godfather, which he returned with a saucy grin and a waggle of his eyebrows, which made Harry's face heat up.

"There's plenty of food here for everyone, I'm so glad you could make it!" gushed Mrs Weasley before she grabbed three plates and stacked them with food. With a flick of her wand, the plates flew gracefully over to the Bells and settled down. Harry noticed Katie immediately dig into her food vigorously, though her portions were nowhere near the size of Harry's or Ron's. Because Harry had already eaten, he merely sat there watching Katie from the corner of his eye, not getting involved in any of the conversations around him, neither speaking at all. He was trying his best to be polite by waiting for Katie to finish her meal before speaking.

"Um... hey," he said rather lamely once Katie was done.

"Hey," replied Katie, though she wasn't quite looking at him directly.

"I er... I'm sorry for not showing up to see you off, you know," said Harry. Man, he really was bad at talking to girls, wasn't he?

"I understand Harry, my parents told me what happened," said Katie, and Harry leaned backwards slightly in surprise.

"You knew?" he said incredulously.

"Lower your voice!" hissed Katie quietly. "Not all the details, just that Mr Weasley was hurt and that you were somehow involved."

"That's basically the gist of it," muttered Harry. Katie was now properly looking at him expectantly, silently asking him to elaborate. He glanced around, checking to see if anyone was paying attention to them before he clasped Katie's hand in his, stood up, then led her out of the dining room, into the hall and into the room that had the Black family tree painted on the walls. The tapestry was an intricate work of art, the branches simple yet elegant in style. The paintings of the members of the House of Black were done in incredible detail and the likeness accurate, at least as far as Harry could tell. Sirius's face had been burned off on the account of being a blood traitor, but he had seen pictures of Bellatrix Lestrange as well as in one of Dumbledore's memories last year, and the painting here was very accurate. There were a few other faces scorched off as well, the one closest to Sirius was one named Andromeda, who came from the same branch as Bellatrix and someone called Narcissa, whose name connected with one Lucius Malfoy.

"Why did you bring me in here?" asked Katie.

"Privacy," answered Harry as he closed the door behind them. He then turned to face Katie, and she had her hands on her hips with a defiant expression on her face.

"Look, I know you're angry with me..." began Harry.

"I'm not angry at the fact that you weren't there to see me off," interrupted Katie. "Once my dad explained what had happened to Mr Weasley I understood that you were going through some things that you probably needed to work out. But you didn't send an owl to me once!"

"I was in a bad place!" argued Harry.

"You're always in a bad place," Katie pointed out harshly, which made Harry recoil slightly. Damn it, this is not how he wanted this conversation to go.

"Okay yes, I have a tendency to get myself into trouble a lot," admitted Harry, "but I was in a _really_ bad place."

"How bad?" demanded Katie, her voice rising as her face started to turn red with anger.

"I had a vision that I was Voldemort's snake!" shouted Harry, and now it was Katie's turn to look taken aback.

"You... what?" she repeated, her confusion evident all over her features.

Now that Harry had blurted it out, he knew there was no turning back. He had already resigned himself earlier in the week to the fact that he was going to have this conversation with Katie, and that it was very likely that she wouldn't want anything to do with him because of it.

"After that night we're we... you know," began Harry. "I dreamt that I was this snake..."

The words came tumbling out of his mouth, like some sort of rank waterfall spilling out pollution onto something sweet and innocent. He knew that as much as he wanted to, he couldn't keep the truth from Katie, which was odd in some ways because Harry was pretty sure he'd never been so open to someone about anything, with the exception of Sirius. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing to be honest.

As Harry kept talking, he saw Katie's anger and confusion melt away to be replaced by a deep sadness, and tears started to well up in her eyes.

"I've had a lot of people try to convince me that I'm not weak or evil, but it's a lot harder to hear it than actually believe it," finished Harry, his voice having died down to barely a whisper.

"Oh Harry, I had no idea," said Katie, her voice choking up on the last word.

Harry let out a grim laugh. "I certainly didn't make it easy for you, I didn't even email when I should have. But I was too busy feeling sorry for myself," he said.

"I can't pretend do understand what happened, nobody can," said Katie. "You've been through more in your life already than most people will ever have to in their whole lives."

"It sucks. Why does everything always happen to me?" asked Harry, more to himself than Katie. Then he flushed. "That probably sounded pretty selfish of me," he added.

"Nonsense Harry," said Katie. "It's perfectly natural to think like that sometimes. Now, if you were constantly thinking and acting like that, the twins would have to start calling you a depressed Malfoy or something."

In spite of himself, Harry smiled at the pretty brunette girl. "So you don't hate me? Even after everything I've told you?" he asked hesitantly.

Katie let out a melodious laugh that made Harry's insides flutter. "Oh it's going to take a lot more than a vision and a bad temper to scare me away Potter, I like you too much," she said teasingly.

"But aren't you worried about how dangerous it is to be with me? If Voldemort or his Death Eaters find out, they'll come for you," warned Harry. He still couldn't believe that even after dropping all those bombs on her, she still wanted to be his friend, even _more_ than a friend.

"Harry, my parents are in the Order of the Phoenix, and odds are I'll be joining too once I finish school. I'm going to be in danger regardless."

"But-"

"But nothing. Get over your hero complex already."

Harry frowned. "You know, the only people who ever talk to me like that are Hermione and Ginny," he said. He'd never seen Katie so fired up before, and he was actually quite enjoying it.

"I'll take that as a compliment," said Katie flippantly as she flicked some of her her over her shoulder.

Harry went to retort, but he came up short and closed his mouth, then hung his head slightly. He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve someone as loyal as Katie, but he sure as hell didn't want to lose that trust she had in him.

"Come here," said Katie quietly as she extended her arms out in invitation. Harry hesitated only for a moment before stepping forward and allowing Katie to embrace him in her arms. She was almost half a head shorter than Harry, but he felt safe with Katie's arms around his shoulders. It was probably the first time in a while that he had felt at peace, and automatically Harry's arms circled Katie's waist and pulled her in closer. He breathed in her scent, broomstick polish, lemon and something uniquely Katie all made Harry feel on cloud nine. When they pulled away eventually, though still holding on to each other, Harry realised just how close their faces were. He could see how her brown eyes were being swallowed up by her dilating pupils, could hear her heart rate speed up slightly, as well as her rose-tinted cheeks as she stared back at him. Harry felt his gaze drop down to her lips, which were slightly parted.

"Can... can I kiss you?" whispered Harry.

"Yes," breathed Katie, and her breath on his face made him want to shiver delightedly. Harry leaned forward and closed his eyes before placing a soft kiss to Katie's lips, and he relished in how she kissed him back. There were no tears this time, though the tension between them was just as, if not more strong, and it only made Harry want to kiss Katie even harder.

But eventually Harry realised that they would both have to return to the dining room, as no doubt people had figured out that he and Katie were no longer there. So he broke the kiss, but chuckled when Katie mock-pouted in disappointment.

"Somebody's going to come look for us soon," said Harry.

"Let them," whispered Katie.

"I'd rather not let it be one, or both of the twins finding us. They wouldn't let us live it down for a long time," pointed out Harry.

Katie sighed dramatically, but she nodded in reluctant agreement anyway. Harry offered her a comforting smile before taking her hand and leading her out. but before they left, Katie said, "Harry, does Sirius know about us?"

Harry snorted. "Are you kidding me? Sirius was the one who made me tell you I liked you!"

 _A/N- I had a hard time writing this chapter for some reason. So many bloody rewrites and whatnot._

 _Also to the lovely reviewer named Simianpower. If the werebeast hadn't of interfered, we would be having the canon story of GOF. Harry ain't no wimp in canon, but he sure as hell was scared the whole time._

 _This will be the second last chapter I post before I go on hiatus for another year. But maybe if I have time I'll post another two after this one, but who knows at this point._

 _Ciao!_


	20. Chapter 20- Rays of Light

_A/N- See end of chapter for author's notes._

 **Chapter 20- Rays of Light**

The moment Harry and Katie walked back into Grimmauld Place's dining room hand in hand, everyone fell silent. Every single pair of eyes had zeroed in on the linked hands, and Harry had to focus on making sure he held on to Katie without accidentally breaking it. The only sounds heard were breathing, and that charmed Santa that was currently flying repeatedly into the same wall, causing a loud clanging noise that echoed through the room. Almost everyone except for Ron, Hermione and Sirius (who were looking annoyingly smug right now) had expressions of shock or surprise, though Harry noted that Mrs Weasley looked almost disappointed. Harry wasn't sure why though, to be honest.

Suddenly, the Weasley twins burst into laughter, startling Mrs Bell so much she spilled her mug of Butterbeer all over her unsuspecting husband. The man cursed and quickly cleaned himself off with a spell before glaring at the twins.

"Oh bloody hell, this is golden!" cackled George.

"How long has this been going on for?" added Fred as he wiped an actual tear from his eyes as he clung to his twin brother.

"Er... a week?" said Harry, quickly glancing to Katie, who reassured him with a dazzling smile.

"A week! Blimey mate, is that what you've been doing upstairs this whole time?" said George. "Pretending to be all sullen and broody-"

"He's quite good at it though," cut in Fred.

"Quite so, but want I-"

"And I-"

"Want to know is-"

"How did you sneak this little relationship past us without our knowing?" the twins finished together.

"It's not like I've been here to show anything, you know," said Katie.

"Oh of course, of course," Fred waved off.

"But we didn't pick up anything at all regarding any attraction beforehand," said George.

"But they were talking to each other a lot more," pointed out Fred.

"Not to mention all the things they have in common with each other."

"Quidditch."

"Hogwarts."

"Half-bloods."

"An overwhelming need to look out for the little guy."

"Quidditch."

"So Katie, what was it that attracted you to our beloved scrawny little Potter?"

"He's not so skinny anymore George."

"Right. Maybe it's the muscle?"

"Doubtful, Harry likes to cover up a lot, so what else could it be?"

"Perhaps it's his charming personality?" suggested Ron.

"Or his messy black hair?" added Ginny.

"No guys, it's the eyes," said Hermione, surprising Harry.

"Ah! Of course!" said Fred with a snap of his fingers. "What were they again?"

"Eyes as green as a fresh-pickled toad!" chorused all the Weasleys and Hermione before they buckled over with laughter. Harry could feel his face turning even redder than ever, especially after seeing the mortified expressions on Mr and Mrs Bell's faces.

"All right, that's enough!" said Katie forcefully, her face red as a beet now. "It's none of your bloody business-" Harry's eyes widened at the fact that Katie had actually sworn "- and we don't owe any of you an answer!"

Harry wasn't so sure of that personally. He probably should have asked her parents for permission to date her or something like that, but right now he wasn't going to say anything.

The laughter from the teenagers stopped, and nobody said anything for a long time as they took all of this new information in. Harry was alternating between looking at Katie and the others, his head moving like a spectator at a tennis match as he tried to gauge everyone's reactions. Katie's face had adopted a challenging appearance, almost as if she was daring somebody to fight her on this. Not including their earlier conversation, Harry had never seen her look so determined. She was nowhere near as bad when she had defended him earlier in the year when school had started back up. Her grip on Harry's hand was vicelike, and were it not for his super strength, Harry was pretty sure that he would be hurting a whole lot more.

"Well, I think that you two look like a wonderful couple," said Lupin, him being the first to break the silence.

"Absolutely. I think after everything you deserve some happiness Harry," added Sirius with a warm smile. Harry wasn't sure if he saw it correctly, but it looked as though his godfather had snuck a galleon into the werewolf's hand. _Were they betting on me?!_

"I agree. And you're such a nice lad Harry, it would be hard not to like you," said Mrs Bell encouragingly. Mr Bell nodded his head in agreement, but the man's eyes were telling a different story. Harry supposed that he would have to find a way to earn the father of his girlfriend's respect somehow soon.

"We love you both," emphasised Ginny, surprising just about everybody present. It had been no secret that the Weasley girl had harboured an enormous crush on Harry ever since her first year at Hogwarts, but since she had started dating that Michael Corner kid from Ravenclaw, as well as her most recent proclamation, it seemed that Ginny had moved on.

"Er, thanks Ginny," said Harry. And he meant it.

oOoOoOo

"Up Harry! It's Christmas!" shouted the voice of Ron before Harry felt somebody shove him hard. Harry woke up, feeling more than a little disgruntled at his best friend's antics as the redheaded boy practically ran around the room like a little boy. Even after five years, Ron still acted exactly like the eleven year old boy Harry had met. It was nice to see some semblance of normality in his upside-down world, but that didn't mean Harry was any happier to be woken up early in the morning.

"Shuddup," he muttered before burying his head under his pillow. He heard a loud tearing sound rip through the air as Ron tried to pry the pillow off Harry's head, and the raven-haired boy looked up in shock. In his hands were the two ends of his pillow, but Ron was holding the middle in his right hand with a shocked expressions. Feathers drifted through the air all around them, and when Harry opened his fingers up, he realised that he had accidentally unsheathed his claws. He quickly retracted them and grinned ruefully at Ron.

"I suppose it's not a good idea to wake up a sleeping lion," he joked.

Ron's shock disappeared when he laughed before throwing the ruined pillow at Harry, smacking him in the face. "Come on, we got presents to open and then we're visiting Dad," he said.

"Bloody hell, I meant that I want to go back to bed!" groaned Harry, but he followed his lanky friend out of the bedroom anyway, still in his pyjamas, which really only consisted of a long pair of striped pants and nothing else. They raced each other down the stairs, pushing and shoving each other out of the way to get to the living room first. To Ron's vocal dismay and Harry's amusement, they were the last ones there. Someone, Hermione probably, had sorted out the numerous gifts into piles for each individual recipient, and everyone but Harry and Ron had gathered around their's.

"Nice pyjamas," commented Ginny slyly as her eyes roamed over Harry's exposed torso unashamedly.

"It was too hot in my bed last night," explained Harry. It actually had been, though Harry may have accidentally torn it off during the night at some point, and now he had no top to wear to bed. Ginny though, seemed to take note of the multiple scars tracing along his chest and back, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"What happened there?" she asked quietly.

"That's what happens when you're an idiot," answered Harry vaguely.

Ginny only grunted in response as she seemed to accept his answer before settling down in front of her pile.

Harry sat down in front of his pile, right between Ginny and Fred before opening his presents up. From Ron, he had received his usual box of chocolate frogs and Chudley Cannons paraphernalia, a box of 'tried and proved' pranks from the twins, a homework planner from Hermione as well as a-

"What is this?" asked Harry, holding up the second book that had a picture of a pride of lions on the front cover.

"Oh, that. I thought since you're a were-lion, it might be a good idea for you to study about the animal. You know, to help you get a better understanding of your beast side," answered Hermione a little nervously.

"Hermione, that's brilliant!" said Harry earnestly. Hermione beamed in response.

Harry put on the black sweater with his initials knitted in electric green at the front Mrs Weasley had made him ("Pity," muttered Ginny) before collecting his things and taking them back up to his bedroom. Because they were due to see Mr Weasley at St Mungo's in a few minutes, Harry quickly got dressed into some proper clothes, put on his shoes as well as the new sweater before going back downstairs. He waited patiently for the Weasleys and Hermione to come back before they all used the Floo Network to travel speedily to St Mungo's.

The overpowering scent of disinfectant nearly overwhelmed Harry's sensitive nose for a moment, and he had to briefly lean on Hermione in order to adjust properly. The bushy-haired girl gave him a confused look, but when Harry tapped the tip of his nose with her finger, her face lit up with understanding and she wrapped an arm around his waist to hold him up.

"Are you alright?" asked Hermione.

"I'm fine, just having a bit of a sensory overload is all," said Harry. When Hermione's questioning look didn't disappear, he added, "it's the sterilised smell."

"Oh, of course," said Hermione. Harry pulled himself off her once he had adjusted to his surroundings, by which time they had arrived at Mr Weasley's room.

The visit was a little longer than the first time, as Mr Weasley was feeling much better and making promises that he would be out and about in no time. Because of his recents talks with Sirius, Dillon and Katie, Harry was in a far better place to allow himself to be swept up by the Weasley patriarch's jovial attitude. So by the time to return to Grimmauld Place had arrived, Harry felt like he was truly in the Christmas spirit. His mood continued to improve when they returned, even joining in with Sirius and Lupin to sing a rousing rendition of 'God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs,' much to the amusement of everyone else.

There was a moment of rest between coming back from St Mungo's and dinner, during which Harry spent most of his time with the two Marauders as they told him stories of their days in Hogwarts with his father. Many of them were hilarious, and the twins and Ron had gathered around as well to hear of them. Harry was pretty sure that the twins were taking notes, no doubt planning for some spectacular pranks when they returned to school.

Eventually, the doorbell rang in the late afternoon, and Harry was the first up, screaming, "I GOT IT!" at the top of his lungs as he practically barrelled his way through the hall to reach the door. Katie had told him before they left yesterday that she and her parents would be coming over for dinner, right before kissing Harry until he had become lightheaded.

Unfortunately, the people at the door were not the Bells, though Harry was nonetheless delighted to see Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt at the doorstep. However, Harry's disappointment must have shown, because Tonks grinned mischievously at him.

"Wotcher, Harry. Not the people you were expecting?" greeted Tonks with a wink.

Harry felt his face heat up before he said, "It's great to see you two." He allowed Tonks to hug him before shaking Kingsley's hand firmly before stepping aside to allow them inside. Tonks yet again tripped over the umbrella stand made out of a troll's foot as she made her way inside, which made Harry grin. Katie had the same problem with that stand also. He followed the two aurors inside to the dining room, pointedly ignoring the grins on Ron and Hermione's faces as he sat down next to Sirius. When Sirius coughed dramatically, Harry turned his head to glare at the older man.

"What?" he hissed.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm afraid I've only just developed a mild case of an itchy throat," replied Sirius, though his mouth had twisted into a grin eerily similar to the one Tonks had just plastered on earlier. "Disappointed that it wasn't Katie?" he asked.

"Shut up," grumbled Harry. "I'm not disa-"

 _DING DONG!_

Harry was up in a split second, knocking his chair over in his haste. he leapt over the chair and sprinted for the exit to the dining room, but he moved so quickly that he didn't have time to slow down and ended up running right through the door, knocking it off its hinges and sending splinters of wood everywhere. Harry fell down on top of the broken door, spluttering and coughing up dust as he peered behind him to assess the damage caused.

"Sorry!" he called out before leaping to his feet and sprinting down the hall again, but this time he managed to slow down enough that once he reached the door. He paused, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves- _for goodness sake, this was just Katie!_ \- before he opened the door.

Katie was standing there, her gloved hands stuffed into the pockets of her denim jeans with her parents behind her. She was wearing an emerald green woollen sweater with a black dragon on it, and her dark hair was once again hanging free, framing her face beautifully. Harry found that he really liked it when Katie had her hair like this, compared to her usual ponytail or braid. She was staring up at him with a shy smile, her cheeks pink from the cold, and Harry thought he'd never seen someone so pretty.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," repeated Harry a little dumbly. "Um, merry Christmas."

Katie repeated the greeting and leaned forward for a hug, which Harry gladly accepted, until he realised that her parents were there. He awkwardly pulled back, though he made sure to hold her hand as he shook Mr and Mrs Bell's with the other, before leading them back inside.

"What happened there?" asked Katie, pointing to the splintered door.

"Oh that? That's nothing," waved off Harry. Katie gave him a suspicious look, but she nodded her head and stepped over the door to get inside. Everyone greeted the Bells cheerily, wishing them a merry Christmas. Hermione and Ginny even went as far as to actually hug Katie before stealing her away from Harry, much to his chagrin. but before he had the chance to stop it, Harry was pulled away by the twins and led into another room, with Ron joining them.

"What's all this about?" demanded Harry angrily as he was pushed into on of the chairs.

"Now Harry, we're here to have a little friendly chat with you," answered George.

"About?" pressed Harry.

"You and Katie," said Fred.

"We want to know your intentions for our lovely Chaser-" started Fred.

"And seeing as she has no siblings-" added George.

"We decided to play the role of older brothers to her."

"Say what now?" said Harry. Since when was this a thing?

"Now, first question," started George. "What are your intentions towards Katie?"

"I thought Katie told you all to leave us alone yesterday," said Harry.

"She did," conceded Fred. "And that's why you're not going to tell her anything about this."

"She's gonna find out one way or another, you know," pointed out Harry.

"Oh, we know that, that's why we have a plan for that," said George.

Harry looked at Ron, who had not spoken yet. "Are you in on this?" he asked.

"No, I'm just here to make sure that you don't tear them into pieces," said Ron. Harry scowled deeply.

"You should have brought Katie for that," he growled.

"Now now, don't be such a lion," said George warningly. "Nothing bad is going to happen."

"Maybe," added Fred.

"I can't believe I'm dealing with this," muttered Harry as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Don't worry, this won't take too long," promised Ron.

Harry glared at the three redheads in front of him, but when they didn't so much as blink, he sighed and sank into his seat, feeling dejected.

"So, what are your intentions with Katie?" asked George, repeating his earlier question.

"Er... I like her a lot and want to get to know her better," said Harry, though the ending came off sounding more like a question, which had the twins raising an eyebrow each skeptically.

"You just want to get to know her?" echoed George.

"And what do you like about her?" added Fred.

"Er..." Harry thought back to his conversation with Sirius before the Christmas break. He had listed quite a few things then, but now that he and Katie were officially an item, he'd noticed so much more that he liked about her already. "She's smart, funny, kind, bloody brilliant at Quidditch-" the twins and Ron nodded in agreement, "- brave, loyal, sweet. She was the only person who defended me against Seamus that first night back at Hogwarts, and we've become better friends this year."

"Impressive Potter, very impressive," said Fred approvingly.

"But not once did you mention anything about her physically," said George.

"What?" said a now-bewildered Harry.

"Oh come off it mate, we all know you're not _that_ honourable," scoffed Ron.

"Yeah. Even you, speckled git that you are, has noticed just how much attention Katie attracts from the guys," said Fred.

In fact, Harry _had_ noticed how attractive she was, and especially since he had grown to fancy her, he'd especially noticed how many pairs of male eyes she drew whenever she was in the room. That was something Harry was going to have to deal with... or not.

Ron seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because he said, "That's gonna have to change once everyone finds out that she's dating you mate. Maybe you could eat a couple of the Slytherins to prove a point?"

"Tempting Ron, but I'll pass," said Harry.

"You're dodging our question," said George.

"Ugh, fine!" snapped Harry. "I think she's bloody hot, are you happy now?"

"Immensely," said Fred and George together, their grins downright evil. Harry sighed, because no doubt this was going to come back to bite him in the backside at some point. The twins were still shocked that he and Katie had managed to keep things hidden for so long regarding their feelings for each other, and Harry asked why.

"Well, after the D.A. meeting at the Hog's Head, we saw you with Katie at the Three Broomsticks," said Fred.

Harry remembered that. At the time, the only reason he and Katie had hung out together that day was because the twins were off on a double date with Angelina and Alicia and Ron and Hermione had run off somewhere. Which, looking back on it, seemed like his best friends had been trying to set the two up together even then. Harry also realised that that was probably the day he had started to develop feelings for Katie, though at the time he hadn't known.

"Anyway, when nothing seemed to happen after that, we just assumed that you had gone out together as friends," continued George. "But imagine our surprise when yesterday, you and her walk into the house holding hands and looking very much in love."

"We weren't dating then," said Harry, "that's only been going on for about a week."

"And yet you managed to keep it hidden from us," said Fred. "My, our messy-haired friend is a lot more devilish than we thought. A true prankster in the making."

The twins asked Harry a few more questions after that, most of them mundane, before finally letting him go. Harry darted out of the room quickly and returned to the dining room, and his eyes automatically zeroed in on Katie. She was talking quietly with Tonks, but when Harry entered, she looked at him, offering him a sweet smile that sent Harry's heart racing before she turned back to the conversation.

"You've got it bad," said Sirius, who had come up next to Harry and offered him a Butterbeer, which Harry took.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Harry suspiciously.

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I really am happy for you," said Sirius. "Ever since she came to visit yesterday you've been smiling like an idiot, which is good. Nobody's seen you like this for ages."

"I guess that's partially my fault," sighed Harry.

"Not your's, just the situations you've been in," corrected Sirius.

"I bet that Umbridge will issue a decree banning people from physical displays of affection once she sees me with Katie," said Harry morbidly.

"Well, you could always snog your girlfriend right in front of her just to annoy her," suggested Sirius, which made Harry grin.

"Now _there's_ an idea," said Harry.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but then Mrs Weasley came into the room, looking tired but extremely happy.

"Let's eat!" she proclaimed, and over her head flew countless plates, bowls and other enormous dishes all stacked full of food. Harry smiled with glee as he sat in between Katie and Ron, while opposite them Sirius, Lupin and Tonks sat down.

Once all the dishes were settled on the table, and everyone gathered in their seats, Mrs Weasley told everyone to tuck in very similar to how Dumbledore would say at the start of every opening feast. Harry quickly helped himself to some food, filling up two whole plates before digging into his meal, while next to him Ron did the exact same thing. Sirius and Lupin both laughed at the younger boys' antics, while beside Harry and on Ron's other side, Hermione and Katie merely rolled their eyes before helping themselves to their much smaller portions.

Everyone seemed so happy, and it was infecting Harry to the point where it seemed as though he would never fall back into his usual melancholic mood. Mr and Mrs Bell were talking to Kingsley and Mrs Weasley with smiles on their faces as they asked about each other's lives, while Lupin and Tonks were openly flirting to the point where even Harry and Ron had noticed. Sirius was grinning at Lupin, though the werewolf couldn't see, which proved to be his downfall because Sirius transformed his tattered robes into a rose-pink tutu, which set all the teenagers off into raucous laughter.

As Harry finished his third helping, he noticed the Christmas cracker that was situated between himself and Katie. He picked up and offered one side to Katie, and she raised a questioning eyebrow at him. She grabbed it though and smirked.

"One, two, three," counted Harry, and they both pulled on the cracker hard. the was a loud bang, shooting confetti everywhere which made Harry and Katie jump in their seats in fright. Once the multicoloured strips of paper settled down all over the table in front of them, Katie let out a surprised laugh, which made Harry chuckle as well. Harry noticed that Katie had won, as she had the bigger piece and he outstretched his hand in askance, and Katie handed him the piece. He fished out the winner's items, one of which was a lifelike miniature model of a Common Welsh Green dragon, which hissed and spit fire at Harry until he gently tapped it over the top of its head with his finger, and it settled down. He lifted his hand up so the little dragon could hop onto the table before he grabbed the piece of yellow paper that had fallen onto his lap. He unfolded it, revealing a paper crown, and he looked up to smirk at Katie.

"My lady," he said as pompously as he could, trying to channel his inner Ernie MacMillan as he held up the crown towards her.

Katie giggled when Harry placed the crown gently atop her head, and it settled nicely on top of her long brown hair. Katie gently touched it so that she could adjust it, then practically beamed at Harry before leaning forward and capturing his lips in a soft kiss that made Harry's head spin. When Katie pulled away, Harry noticed how red her cheeks were, though her eyes practically sparkled with happiness.

"You done there mate?" said a voice across from them, breaking Harry and Katie both out of their little bubble. Harry glanced over to see Sirius and Lupin both smirking at them, so Harry sighed and reluctantly moved away from his girlfriend. Though Harry decided to place a well-timed kick to Sirius's shin, and the man yelped in surprise and pain before glaring at Harry, though he pretended to ignore it in favour of grinning at Katie, no doubt looking like an absolute idiot.

When dinner was over, Harry was led by Katie out of the dining room and into the same room where he had just been interrogated by the twins and Ron. They fell into the love seat by the fire, which was smaller than a normal love seat so Katie was almost sitting in Harry's lap with the way her legs were draped over his. From one of her pockets she pulled out a small velvet box, maroon in colour. Harry's eyes widened in surprise at the gift, and when Katie offered it to him, he gingerly took it from her and opened it up. There was a sharp tooth, likely from a big cat of sorts, hanging from a black leather cord inside. The tooth was creamy-white and almost as long as Harry's index finger, though it appeared to be strong. Harry looked up from the box with wide eyes at Katie, who was now flushed with embarrassment.

"I didn't know what to get you for Christmas, but I thought this fitting," she said in a quiet voice.

"Katie, it's..." started Harry.

"If you don't like it that's okay! I can get you something else!" said Katie, much louder and quicker this time, and she started to reach for the box, but Harry moved it away from her grasp.

"No! I like it- love it, even!" insisted Harry. "This is the coolest present anyone has given me."

"It is?" said Katie disbelievingly.

"Well, besides my father's invisibility cloak-"

"You have an invisibility cloak?!"

"I'll explain later. But honestly Katie, I love this, thank you."

Katie beamed at Harry again, and he leaned forward to give her a quick kiss (Harry was really starting to like kissing her more than anything else).

"It's a lion's tooth," explained Katie. "I thought it would look good on you."

"Where did you get a lion tooth?" Harry wondered aloud as he fiddled with the necklace.

"Actually, I've had it for a long time," said Katie. "When I was ten my family and I went to Africa on a safari excursion, and one of the guide's sons gave this to me. But I thought that you would look much better with this than I would."

Harry put the leather cord around his neck before adjusting the tooth dangling from it so that it was hanging perfectly in the centre of his chest. Then Harry mentally slapped himself. Bloody hell! He had forgotten to get Katie a present!

"I'm so sorry, I forgot to buy you something," he said shamefully.

"I understand Harry, your mind's been occupied with a lot of other more important things," said Katie.

"That's not a good excuse though," insisted Harry. "You're my girlfriend, I should have bought you something sooner!"

"Harry, when have you had time this week to go anywhere to buy anything?" questioned Katie knowingly. Actually, other than the two visits to St Mungo's, Harry hadn't left Grimmauld Place at all since arriving here.

"But still..." pressed Harry, but Katie silenced him by placing her hand over his mouth.

"Seriously, don't worry about it," she said seriously, almost as if she was challenging him to disagree with her.

Harry gently peeled Katie's hand away before saying, "Fine, but when we go to Hogsmeade together, I'm going to buy something that you really want."

"You don't have to-" began Katie, but now it was harry's turn to cover her mouth.

"Nope. You don't want me to be upset about not getting you anything now, so you're not allowed to get upset when I buy you something," said Harry. Katie's eyes narrowed, but when she finally relented with a nod of her head, Harry removed his hand from her mouth. However, as he tried to pull away, Katie grabbed his hand and gently placed a kiss on his palm. Harry felt himself grow still. This was new. Sure, he'd kissed Katie on the lips a number of times at this point, despite their relationship being very new, but this... this was a whole new level of intimacy, and it scared Harry slightly. Were they moving too fast? How fast too fast? Did they need to take things slow?

Katie seemed to sense Harry's inner conflict, because she looked at him worriedly. "What is it?" she asked.

"It's nothing, I'm just..." Harry paused while trying to find the right words to accurately express how he was feeling. "I'm not good at this relationship thing," he settled on saying.

To his surprise, Katie laughed. "Neither am I Harry. You're the first boy I've ever dated," she said.

"Really?" said Harry incredulously. "But you're so pretty!"

Katie flushed a brilliant shade of red before ducking her head, but Harry persisted. "No, seriously. You're easily the prettiest girl I've ever met, and I feel like there's so many better guys out there for you than me," he said. "I don't even know why you like me back. I suck at relationships."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to figure it out together then, won't we?" said Katie.

That sounded like a really good idea to Harry.

 _A/N- And voila! I thought because this is probably going to be my last chapter before I go on hiatus I'd leave it on a nice, happy and slightly conclusive note. It's been a great couple of weeks being able to work on this for you guys, in spite of the short time allocated to me, but I love this story so much. I can't wait to return in a year's time to finish this, because I'll have zero distractions by then._

 _Love you all, if this is the last chapter until then, sayonara!_


	21. Chapter 21- Return to Form

_A/N- I may have lied slightly when I said last chapter was my last, but here's a little treat for ya!_

 **Chapter 21- Return to Form**

Harry kept his eyes peeled as his gaze flitted around the station cautiously. His focus never stayed on one person for too long as he tried to process as much information as possible. Tonks, Lupin and Moody were all on guard duty, with the ageing ex-auror's magical eye whirling around in its socket maniacally. Beside Harry, Sirius, disguised as Padfoot, was curiously sniffing around, his long, pink tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. The black dog didn't move too far as Harry's hand remained holding the dark fur, while he was holding his entire trunk over his other shoulder easily. The twins had long run off to find Lee Jordan, while Mrs Weasley was currently smothering Ron in a bone-crushing hug that was leaving the lanky redhead purple-faced. Ginny was quietly talking to Colin Creevey, who had taken out his camera to take photos of Ron's embarrassing predicament, which made Harry grin when his eyes met Ginny's.

"Hey," said a familiar sweet voice next to Harry, drawing his attention away from the hilarious scene. He couldn't see who it was because of the trunk he was holding, so he put it down and was greeted with the sight of Katie. Her hair was done up it its usual ponytail, but she looked great, if her smile was anything to go by. Harry felt his own smile widen as he let go of Padfoot's fur to embrace the girl, and she melted against Harry's chest before looking up and placing a lingering kiss to his lips. Had Harry mentioned that he loved kissing Katie?

"Hey," Harry echoed back once they parted, though they were still pressed up against each other. He looked over Katie's shoulder searchingly. "Where are your parents?"

"They had to go quickly because of work," answered Katie.

"Oh, right," muttered Harry. Before Katie could say another word, however, Padfoot decided now was a good time to interrupt them as he pushed right through the middle of them, separating them while barking madly to get Katie's attention.

"Oh! Hello Padfoot!" greeted Katie sweetly before she crouched down to pet the excited Animagus enthusiastically. "Have you been keeping Harry safe? That's a good boy!"

Padfoot seemed to be mightily enjoying the pretty brunette's ministrations if his wagging tail banging against Harry's leg painfully was anything to go by, and the raven-haired boy found himself slightly jealous of the bloody dog. Harry almost forgot how much Katie loved animals, even if the current object of her affections was actually a grown man, but he could have sworn Padfoot smirked at Harry, so he decided to intervene at that point.

"Alright, stop sucking up to my girlfriend Padfoot," said Harry as he gently pushed the enormous dog away. Padfoot let out a bark of disapproval, which was echoed by the expression on Katie's face.

"Is someone jealous?" she teased.

"You bloody right I am," growled Harry as he pulled Katie close to him again, and he felt a sense of satisfaction as Katie's pupils almost doubled in size.

"I'm hoping we find a compartment all to ourself," she whispered. "We haven't had any privacy at all."

Harry thought that was the best idea he had ever heard in his life, and he started to eagerly pull his girlfriend along with him towards the Hogwarts Express, but Padfoot's barking stopped him.

"Oh bloody hell Padfoot, I'll see you in the- OOMPH!" Harry was cut off from his sentence and oxygen supply when Mrs Weasley wrapped him up in one of her famous hugs.

"Oh please do take better care this term Harry, you've been in enough trouble as it is," said Mrs Weasley in a way only a mother could. It touched Harry's heart to know that she cared for him just as much as she did her own children, but he also quickly realised that he was about to be in big trouble if he didn't get out of her grasp sooner. So he used a little bit of his super strength to gently pry Mrs Weasley off him, before he placed a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Thank you for the Christmas, and for putting up with me," said Harry earnestly. "It can't have been easy."

"Oh, nonsense dear," Mrs Weasley brushed off easily. "I've had to raise seven kids, this was nothing."

Harry smiled before enveloping her in another hug. When he let go, he turned his attention to Padfoot and crouched down so that he was eye level with him. "I'll try to write to you more often," he promised before glancing at Katie, who was now saying goodbye to Mrs Weasley, though Harry noticed that there seemed to be some slight tension between the two. "I might need some more advice on certain things."

Padfoot barked knowingly before licking Harry's face affectionately. Harry laughed before standing up and ruffling the top of the dog's head in farewell, then took both his and Katie's trunks and hefted them over his shoulder before leading the way to the train, with Katie, Ron, Hermione and Ginny following closely behind.

Harry led the way into an empty compartment, where he quickly stashed his and Katie's trunks into one of the overhead baggage compartments and sat down. Katie joined him to his ride, while Ron and Hermione looked at them apologetically. Ginny had long since disappeared, and Harry guessed that she'd either run into her own friends or found Michael Corner.

"Sorry Harry, but Ron and I have to patrol the halls for a little while," said Hermione. She waved at the couple before dragging an annoyed Ron out of the compartment, closing the door behind them. The train started to move a few seconds later, and Harry quickly darted over to stick his head out of the window to wave goodbye to his friends. Padfoot was eagerly chasing the train, barking madly and Harry laughed at the Animagus's antics before turning back to look at Katie. To his surprise, she was giving him a sly look, her grin having turned from sweet to downright mischievous.

"It seems that we're alone Potter," she commented wryly. "Whatever shall we do to pass the time?"

Harry felt his eyes widen, and his body react in a way that was slightly embarrassing, but his eagerness to be alone with his girlfriend overran that feeling. He pulled out his wand and magically locked the compartment door before he practically growled as he pounced on Katie and enthusiastically kissed her hard on the lips. Harry felt Katie's arms wrap around his neck to pull him in closer, deepening the kiss while his own went around her waist.

They had never kissed this intensely before, Harry noted in the far off corners of his mind. Their lips melded together perfectly like two pieces in a puzzle which Harry relished in. He could feel his heartbeat speed up, pushing the blood down somewhere he didn't really want Katie to know, but she was pressed up so closely to him that it was impossible to adjust without accidentally knocking her to the floor. Merlin, her lips were so soft! Where had she learned to kiss like that? It was making Harry feel lightheaded and giddy, and he was trying his best to give as good as he got.

Eventually though, the couple found themselves running out of air, so they reluctantly pulled away to catch their breath. It did not last long though, because a mere few seconds later, Katie leaped at Harry, pushing him underneath her and straddling his hips between her legs. Harry found the position both intoxicating and compromising, but Katie's lust-fuelled kisses quelled any complaints that were threatening to spill out. His hand once again found themselves on her waist, while Katie had his collar tight in one of her fists while the other was playing with the messy hair on the back of his head. Harry reached upwards, reaching for her ponytail and in one fluid motion, pulled the hair tie smoothly out, spilling her long brown hair all around them. Harry grabbed a fistful of it eagerly, loving how soft it felt in his hand. Katie let out a muffled moan as his other hand traveled up and down her waist softly, which very nearly threw Harry over the edge, and in response, his free hand began to move further up Katie's side until it was right under her armpit. Just a little more movement and soon Harry would be able to touch her-

Harry's eyes flew open suddenly, and he quickly yet gently tried to pry Katie off of him before he completely lost his wits. Katie seemed to sense his unease though, so she complied and slid off of him back onto the seat, while Harry pushed himself back up.

"I'm sorry, was it something I did?" asked Katie, her face flushed red from their snogging.

"No, you were brilliant!" said Harry a little too quickly, because now Katie was starting to look upset.

"Was I being to forward?" she asked nervously. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me!"

"I thought I was the one being too forward," said Harry. "I just... are we moving a little too fast?"

"What do you mean?" asked Katie.

"I mean, we've only been dating for a little under two weeks now, and already we're having an all-out snogging session in an empty compartment," said Harry. "We haven't even been on a proper date yet!"

Katie sighed before scooting a little bit closer to Harry so that their knees were touching. "Maybe. But in all honesty Harry I'm just as new to this as you are so I've got no idea what's appropriate and what's not," she said.

"Haven't Angelina and Alicia told you anything?" wondered Harry.

"A bit too much, if you ask me. But do you think we should seek someone else's advice on this?"

"I didn't say that, and we did promise to work it out together."

Katie's upset expression turned to one of warmth, and she kissed Harry again, though this one was not nearly as heated as their earlier ones. Harry wasn't sure whether or not to be relieved or disappointed, but for now, it was probably best to take things slowly while his blood was boiling.

Suddenly there was a banging on the compartment door, startling Harry and Katie so much they automatically pushed away from each other. There was a click of the door unlocking before it slid open, letting Ron and Hermione inside. That led Harry to wonder just how long he had been snogging with Katie.

"Bloody gits," swore Ron as he sat down with a huff.

"Language Ron," chided Hermione, but then she looked between Harry and Katie with narrowed eyes. "And just what have you two been doing?"

Harry glanced over at Katie, who was trying to inconspicuously straighten her clothes. Her hair was frazzled and her lips swollen, and he felt an odd sense of satisfaction in the fact the he was the one to do that to her. But he doubted he looked any better. His hair was probably even messier than usual and his lips just as swollen, but Harry couldn't find it in himself to care that much.

"We just talked," he said nonchalantly. Hermione didn't fall for it for a second, but she huffed and sat back in the seat, while Ron was openly grinning at Harry.

"I have to go find Angelina and Alicia," said Katie suddenly as she stood up and straightened her slightly twisted sweater. She bent down however to kiss Harry on the cheek before walking out and closing the compartment door behind her after promising to return. Harry felt an odd sense of loss when Katie left, but Hermione looked ready to burst apart with questions.

"Before you begin Hermione, yes we snogged, and yes, we were responsible," said Harry quickly before Hermione even opened her mouth.

"How did you-" began Hermione.

"Bloody hell Hermione, even I could tell what you were thinking," snorted Ron. Then he looked at Harry. "So how was it?"

"I'm not telling you anything," said Harry with a shake of his head.

"Oh come on mate! At least tell me one thing?" pleaded Ron.

Harry groaned. "Fine. It was brilliant," he said exasperatedly. "But I'm not telling you any more."

Ron and Hermione looked ready to argue, but the compartment door opened again and Ginny and Katie came in. Harry frowned slightly in confusion as Katie sat back down next to him.

"I thought you went to find Angelina and Alicia?" he asked.

"Oh, I found them alright," said Katie in an annoyed voice, "but they were busy snogging the twins!"

"That's a little hypocritical coming from you," said Hermione with a scowl.

"Yeah, but at least we stopped when somebody else arrived," snapped Katie. She then looked at Harry. "Downright rude I say."

"Indeed," mumbled Harry while he wrapped an arm around Katie's waist and pulled her closer to him. She snuggled in closer, making Harry feel warm inside. The five of them sat in companionable silence for a while, during which Harry spent most of his time running his hands through Katie's hair gently. Harry was discovering new things about himself constantly, like how all of a sudden he really liked touching people, in particular Katie. He couldn't help it really, but for some reason his relationship with her was making him become rather affectionate.

"Ron? Ginny?" Harry heard Katie say, breaking the comfortable silence and drawing the attention of the two redheads.

"Yeah?" said Ron.

"Um... does your mum not like me?" asked Katie. Harry stiffened in surprise. Where had that come from?

"Not that I know of, why do you ask?" said Ron. Everyone was staring intently at the brunette Chaser now, and she was looking rather small under their gaze.

"It's just... she doesn't talk to me a lot, and I always catch her looking at me like she's disappointed or something," said Katie as she pushed herself off of Harry's chest to sit up straight.

"I don't think she's staring at you Katie," said Hermione slowly.

"Then who else could she be staring at?" Katie said tiredly.

"She's staring at Harry, and I think I know why," answered Hermione. Everyone turned to look at the bushy-haired witch, and Harry scowled.

"Why would she be disappointed in me? I haven't done anything too bad, have I?" snapped Harry.

"Mrs Weasley is staring at you because she wishes you weren't dating Katie," said Hermione calmly.

"Oh bloody hell," muttered Ginny with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, who would she want me to date?" asked Harry.

"Well..." Hermione trailed off as her eyes flashed over to a now- red-faced Ginny, who looked like she wanted nothing more than to disappear forever.

"Why would Mrs Weasley want me to date Ginny?" guessed Harry cautiously.

"It's because she thinks I still have a silly little crush on you," said Ginny. "She probably reckons that I'm only dating Michael to try and get over you or something stupid like that."

"Oh," Harry and Katie said together, both feeling surprised at the revelation.

"And er-" Katie cleared her throat "- do you still like Harry?" she asked.

Ginny rolled her eyes again. "Of course not. That was just me liking you for your fame, not who you are," she answered. "You're more like a brother to me than anything else. No offence."

"None taken," said Harry. Well, at least it explained why Ginny was no longer blushing like a tomato and running away from him all the time anymore.

"And besides, even if I did still like you, you're dating Katie, and I would never do anything to get in the way of your relationship," continued Ginny.

"Er... thanks Ginny," said Harry a little uncomfortably, yet still touched by the girl's honesty. Katie, however, did a better job at showing her appreciation and she leant forward to embrace the younger girl.

"But what about your mum?" asked Katie once they pull away from their hug.

Ginny snorted. "Eh, she'll get over it," she said without a care.

Seemingly satisfied with that for now, Katie leaned back into Harry again, her back pressed against his chest, and his arms wrapped around her waist. Harry tucked the top of her head under his chin and closed his eyes. He was slightly worried that Mrs Weasley didn't entirely approve of his relationship with Katie, which was rather surprising seeing as he'd always thought the two women gotten along really well with each other, from what he had seen at least. But from what everyone else had said and/or done, they were quite happy for him and Katie. It was with that thought that Harry drifted off to sleep.

oOoOoOo

The start of the second term of the year was usually smaller than the other feast, though the house elves still created a wonderful feast that Harry devoured. Katie kept having to tell Harry to ease up in case he accidentally choked on his food, though the smile on her face meant that she was only partly worried for him.

The excited whispers had died out marginally by the time dessert was rolled out. When Harry and Katie had walked into the Great Hall hand-in-hand, it had kickstarted the infamous rumour mill amongst all four House tables when they saw them together. Harry had mostly drowned it out, not caring in the slightest that others were talking about him. At least it was better than everyone calling him an attention-seeking ponce. He had noticed, however, a number of disappointed expressions on some witches' faces, as well as a few on some guy's, but Harry actually found himself not caring for once. His relationship with Katie was a good thing.

He would soon begin to question that however, when two shadows loomed over him.

"Hey!" exclaimed Katie as Angelina shoved her out of the way to sit between her and Harry, while Alicia did the same to Hermione.

"Oh no," groaned Harry once he realised that the two older Chasers were giving him death glares. "Is this some coordinated effort you've made with the twins? Because if it is, I'll hex their balls off."

"You'll do no such thing," warned Angelina.

"We're just here to talk," said Alicia in a slightly nicer tone, though she still looked really scary in Harry's opinion.

"Is this the big sister talk?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Watch it Potter, we're the final line of approval you need before you can officially date Ms Bell," said Alicia.

"Now, how long has this been going on?" asked Angelina.

"Define how long. Like how long have we been dating or how long have I fancied her?" asked Harry.

"We already know how long you've been dating," said Alicia.

Harry leaned forward past Angelina so that he could see a red-faced Katie. "Did you tell them we were dating?" he asked.

"Of course. I did it the day after we got together." said Katie, "though I'm starting to regret having said anything in the first place," she added much more quietly, and Harry only heard it because of his enhanced hearing. "And it's not like you didn't tell Ron and Hermione straight away, at least I waited a day!"

Harry sighed before turning his attention back to Angelina. "Fine, I've fancied her since the first Hogsmeade trip after you guys ditched her to go on a double date with Fred and George," he answered.

"That was a long time ago," said Alicia.

"It was like three months," corrected Harry.

"Stop being a smarty pants," snapped Angelina.

"Stop butting into my life," retorted Harry.

" _Anyway_ ," said Alicia emphatically. "We were only curious."

Harry and Angelina continued to glare at each other before they backed down, and Katie looked rather done with everything already. Things hadn't quite been the same with the Gryffindor Quidditch captain and the Seeker since Harry was constantly in detention with Umbridge, which had started to cause a rift between them.

"But also to warn you," added Angelina.

"Geez, I'm not gonna do anything to Katie," said Harry in an annoyed voice.

"She's like our little sister," said Angelina, ignoring Harry's remark, "so if you do anything to hurt her, you will be repaid tenfold."

"But we doubt you'd ever intentionally hurt Katie," said Alicia placatingly while staring pointedly at Angelina. "We like to think of you as our not-so-little-anymore brother as well."

"You know, when you say that, our relationship sounds messed up," said Harry in a disgusted tone.

"You know what I mean," said Alicia. "You're a really nice guy with a slight temper problem-" Angelina snorted at that "- but we know you'd do anything for Katie."

"But we'll still hex you into next year if you do anything," said Angelina.

"Okay, now can you two go away now?" groaned Katie. "I want to spend some time with my boyfriend."

"Is that what you've been doing this whole time? Why didn't you come to visit us on the train?" asked Angelina.

"Because you were both sucking the twin's faces off!" snapped Katie loudly, attracting several curious stares.

"Who's been sucking our faces off?" asked a cheery voice.

"Was it a dementor?" said an identical voice. Fred and George had come over at that point, both looking mightily smug as they looked down on the three Chasers and Harry.

"Can't have been, brother, we haven't seen any of them since our fifth year," said George.

"That's an excellent point, oh brother of mine," said Fred. "So that leaves us with..."

"Angie and Alicia," finished George. Then he grinned down on Harry. "My my, Potter, seems that the ladies still want you despite your claimed status."

"They were threatening to kill me if I hurt Katie," grumbled Harry.

"We didn't say kill, we said hex you into next year," corrected Angelina.

"What's the difference?" snapped Harry.

"The difference is that one leaves you in a coma, the other leaves you dead," explained Angelina in an annoyed voice.

"Oh, here we go again," muttered Alicia. "Anyway, that's all we have to say for now. Good luck!" She then stood up and grabbed a grumpy Angelina before pulling her away from Harry and Katie, and the two older girls were followed by Fred and George.

"Does that mean I have your approval?!" Harry called out to the retreating seventh-years. Angelina only responded by flipping him off. "I'll take that as a yes."

"What in the blazes was that all about?" said Ron incredulously once everyone settled down.

"My overprotective best friends," sighed Katie as she moved up close to Harry again. "I'm sorry about that."

"I shouldn't be surprised at this point," said Harry. "It's not the first time someone's interrogated me about us."

"Other people have done it?" said Katie in shock. Harry could see her eyes flash dangerously as she looked up and down the table, trying to search for any suspects. Thankfully for the both of them, she seemed to let the matter drop before turning back to her dessert. The ice cream in Harry's bowl had melted, and he sighed in annoyance.

"What a start to the term," commented Ron dryly.

"I just want some peace and quiet for once, is that too much to ask?" complained Harry.

"Perhaps you'll find some?" offered Hermione hopefully. Just then, Dennis Creevey came up to the foursome and handed Harry a note.

"Dumbledore said to give this to you," he said before running back to his friends. Harry unfolded the piece of paper, and unconsciously he grinned.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Your lessons with our friend will recommence tonight at the usual time. It is also the full moon tonight._

 _Hope this finds you well,_

 _Albus Dumbledore._

 _PS- Cockroach Clusters are delicious this time of the year._

"What is it?" asked Hermione.

"Got another lesson with Dillon tonight," answered Harry. When Katie read the note over his shoulder, she frowned.

"Why does he want you to know that it's a full moon tonight?" she wondered aloud.

"Dunno," said Harry.

"Maybe you're going hunting for werewolves?" suggested Ron.

Hermione gasped. "Oh no! That's so dangerous, Dumbledore would never allow you to do something like that!" she said.

"Well, there's obviously a reason why Dumbledore mentioned the full moon, but I'll tell you all about it when I come back," said Harry with a shrug. He was actually excited to be going out and resume his training with Dillon, as it had been a while since his lion form had had a proper chance to stretch his legs.

oOoOoOo

Later in the evening, Harry walked to the Headmaster's office alone. Ron, Hermione and Katie had all promised to wait up for him in the common room, despite his protests, yet they had been adamant to know everything as soon as possible.

"Cockroach Clusters," Harry muttered to the gargoyle statue guarding the Headmaster's office, and it moved to the side so that Harry could climb up the winding staircase. The door swung open of its own accord, and without hesitation Harry walked over to the desk, ignoring everything else as he reached for the small teddy bear that was undoubtedly the portkey.

He landed on his feet shakily, a remarkable improvement from the first time he had ever used a portkey back in the summer before his fourth year. The clearing in the Forbidden Forest was clear of snow, which was odd for this time of the year, so Harry guessed it had something to do with magic. High above the tree line, the full moon glowed brightly in the night sky, as predicted by Dumbledore. Dillon was already there, sitting on one of the boulders in the middle of the clearing while sheathing and unsheathing the blades of his gauntlets over and over again. The ringing of metal echoed through the clearing, and to Harry it was a slightly ominous sound that rested uneasy in his chest.

Harry pulled his jacket closer to his chest as his breath fogged up his glasses because of the cold air, then trudged numbly over to the awaiting were-lion.

"Have a good Christmas, Potter?" asked the Scottish were-lion as he looked up, ceasing his actions. He stood up from the rock and shook Harry's hand firmly.

"Very good, sir," said Harry.

"Good, now it's time to get back into the action," said Dillon. "I take it you received the note from Dumbledore?"

"Yes, but I was a little confused by what he said about the full moon," said Harry.

"Your friend Remus has recently been going undercover amongst the werewolf community, and he recently learned that a pack of werewolves was going to be within the Forbidden Forest tonight to spy on Hogwarts for Voldemort," explained Dillon.

Harry's eyes widened in shock. "Voldemort's planning on attacking Hogwarts?" he exclaimed.

"Doubtful," said Dillon. "It's more likely he wants to merely see for himself what it's like from an outside point of view, in case he does decide to launch an assault."

"So why send werewolves? They're wild and unpredictable if they're not taking the Wolfsbane Potion," said Harry.

"That's what I intend to find out," said Dillon darkly. "Fenrir Greyback's supposed to be leading the pack tonight, and he's dangerous, even by werewolf standards."

Harry had heard about Greyback. He was supposedly one of the few people who actually enjoyed being a werewolf, and during the last war had earned his infamy through attacking, killing, and turning children of people known to oppose Voldemort. The werewolf was so unpredictable that even Voldemort supposedly had kept his distance from him, and had never actually given him the Dark Mark.

"Time to go Potter," said Dillon before he transformed into his golden-furred lion form. Harry followed suit, turning into his more humanoid black and silver were-lion before taking off after Dillon into the dark forest.

"Be sure to sniff for any canine scents," growled Dillon as the pair ran at a steady pace through the woods. Harry's claws kicked up dirt as he flew through the trees, his dark fur offering better protection against the cold wind than his clothes had. There was no sign of any life anywhere as they ran, even the Acromantulas were unnaturally silent. Not that Harry was complaining, he hated the giant spiders as much as anyone else.

The pair had been running for close to twenty minutes when Harry detected the stink smell of wet dog. He slowed down his pace until he was walking slowly, his nose to the ground. Dillon went back over to him and sniffed the air before growling lowly.

"It's fresh," said Harry. "Multiple scents. They can't have been here more than ten minutes ago."

A horrific howling filled the air, making Harry's hackles raise as a chill traveled down his spine. His ears twisted on the top of his head like radar dishes as he tried to zero in on the direction of the howl. But then, multiple howls followed the first, seemingly coming from everywhere.

"How many do you think that was?" asked Harry.

"Around eight or nine werewolves," said Dillon.

"That was bloody loud, I'd bet anything that everyone at Hogwarts heard it," growled Harry.

"Look for some tracks, it'll be easier to follow them just in case the wind blows the scent away," said Dillon darkly. Harry complied and lifted his head up slightly to get a better view of the ground. Thanks to his night vision, it wasn't hard to spot the tracks, which were heading directly for Hogwarts. Harry growled to let Dillon know that he had found the trail before taking off at top speed. Everything was a blur for Harry as he moved impossibly fast through the forest. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, and the dark thoughts of what might happen if the werewolf pack made it to the school before he could reach them in time. If even _one_ werewolf laid a filthy paw on any of his friends, there wouldn't be enough of the bastard to scrape off the ground. It was these thoughts that spurred Harry onwards, making him almost desperate to find the pack.

The wet dog smell grew even stronger the closer Harry and Dillon got to the school, which made Harry angry. These werewolves were probably not on any Wolfsbane, which meant they were bloodthirsty and would try anything to get to Hogwarts, regardless of the orders Voldemort had given them. Harry hoped that the wards surrounding the castle and its grounds offered protection against the beasts, otherwise a lot of lives could be lost on this night.

When he heard the impatient snarls and gnashing of teeth not far ahead of them, Harry and Dillon slowed down and crouched into a stalking position. They silently stalked forward, relying on their instincts to get them close enough to the unsuspecting wolves. Hidden behind a fallen log barely ten metres away from the nearest werewolf, Harry chanced a peek. Dillon's prediction was true; nine werewolves of various fur colours were all pacing in a line, stopped by an invisible barrier that seemed to halt their march. Harry idly wondered if the wards were charmed to prevent were-cats onto the Hogwarts grounds.

The werewolves were similarly shaped to Harry's were-lion form, but only about half as tall and less muscular. Their bodily proportions were also far more abstract than his own; instead of the gorilla-shaped arms and torso, they were thinner, their arms longer and had no tail. The majority of the werewolves' fur was either a dark grey of brown, with one russet-furred wolf amongst them.

The largest werewolf was the one who drew Harry's attention the most. It was the only one not pacing along the invisible border, which meant that the werewolf had some measure of control over itself. It was easily the largest, with light grey fur and a large head attached to a thick neck. Harry glanced over to Dillon, who gave an almost imperceptible nod to confirm the big werewolf's identity. This was Fenrir Greyback, the deadliest of all known werewolves.

Harry crept forward the tiniest of fractions, his glowing green eyes zeroing in on the nearest target, a smaller werewolf with dark grey fur and a white patch over its right eye. Harry let his instincts take over, and his body tensed up in preparation to pounce. His body seemed to know when the right time to attack was, without his mind even having a say in it, which was fine by Harry. Sometimes instinct trumped logic.

When the patch-faced werewolf was close enough, Harry leapt forward. All the tension in his body traveled down to his legs before pushing him up high into the air like a spring. He extended his arms out in front of him, claws facing towards the unsuspecting werewolf. He bared his fangs and let out a mighty roar that startled the birds in the trees above them, as well as the werewolves. Harry pounced on the patch-faced werewolf, pinning the smaller creature to the ground with one hand almost effortlessly and crouched over it. He roared at the other werewolves, and most of them took a few steps backwards in fear, but Greyback held his ground and snarled at Harry in defiance.

"Bloody mutt," growled Harry. The patch-faced werewolf was clawing at Harry's underbelly, and though its claws barely cut through him, it certainly angered him. Harry struck down and clamped his massive jaws over the wolf's neck, his sharp canines piercing through the soft flesh effortlessly. Blood filled his mouth, and with a jerk of his neck, Harry ripped the werewolf's throat out. He spit out the piece of flesh in disgust, and he for a moment he felt horrified that he had just killed a man as the werewolf died underneath him, but he didn't have time to dwell on it as two more werewolves jumped at him.

Dillon joined the fray then, knocking two werewolves out of the way before leaping onto another and bit the top of its head. The gold-furred were-lion twisted his head and there was a loud snap, and the werewolf dropped lifelessly to the ground. Harry in the meantime, backhanded one werewolf so hard he sent it flying into the air, where it crashed into the trunk of a massive tree before falling to the ground. It didn't get up. The other attacker was absolutely manic with bloodlust; it leapt at Harry with surprising speed and strength and forcing him backwards. Harry grabbed it by the throat and held it at bay, but the werewolf was relentless as it snapped its jaws, sending spit flying everywhere. Harry snarled at the wolf before grabbing one of its legs and lifted it above his head. The werewolf struggled mightily against him, but Harry was far too strong and with another roar, he dropped the werewolf onto his knee. There was another loud crack, similar to when Dillon had broken one of his opponent's neck, and the werewolf fell to the ground. It whimpered slightly before trying to crawl away, but Harry grabbed it by the back of the head and twisted, snapping its neck and killing it.

Harry chanced a quick look at Dillon. Two werewolves lay dead nearby, and he was just finishing his third by pinning it to the ground and brutally clawing at its chest. Blood and gore flew everywhere, staining Dillon's fur, and he only stopped when the werewolf ceased trying to defend itself because it was dead. Only Greyback and two more werewolves remained. All three of them were glaring at Harry and Dillon, their sickly yellow eyes oozing hate at them. But they were also afraid. Harry could smell it wafting over them like a sick wave, and that made him grin in pleasure.

"Which one of you wants me?" he asked. The three werewolves looked at him, before the two smallest werewolves charged at Dillon, while Greyback rose to the challenge. Harry was slightly wary of the Alpha werewolf, he was notorious for his cruelty and cunning for a reason. The grey werewolf snarled at Harry menacingly before charging straight towards Harry.

The black were-lion sidestepped Greyback's charge, but the werewolf was faster than he expected and it twisted its head around and clamped down on Harry's forearm, spilling blood. Harry scrunched his face up in pain before he lifted his arm high up. Greyback held on tightly, which only angered Harry even more and he grabbed the werewolf by the scruff of his neck, making sure his claws pierced the soft flesh. He heard Greyback whine in pain, but the stubborn fool continued to hold on to Harry's arm, so he bit Greyback in the side. His canines sank through fur, fat and meat before piercing right through Greyback's shoulder blade, and that was when Greyback finally let go, howling in agony. Harry threw the grey monster away from him, roaring angrily before confronting Greyback again.

He had fallen to the ground and was trying to get up, but his wounded side and loss of blood was weakening him. Harry stalked forward on all fours, eager to finish him off, but a large hand on his shoulder drew his attention away. Dillon was standing there, his fur covered in blood and his icy-blue eyes hard and determined.

"Don't stain yourself with his blood," he said.

"I've already done that tonight," snapped Harry before pushing Dillon's arm off him.

"Harry, you've killed three monsters already. Don't allow yourself to become one by killing Greyback," urged Dillon.

"He's less than an animal. He's worse than a monster!" roared Harry.

"We still need one survivor, so that Voldemort knows not to come after Hogwarts," insisted Dillon. "He can be the one to strike fear into the hearts of our enemies."

Harry continued to growl at the wounded werewolf, but the human side of him understood the logic, as much as he hated to admit it. So he ceased his hunting and let Greyback escape into the darkness of the forest, before turning back into a human.

Harry winced as the pain in his arm returned. "Bloody prat had a strong bite," he grunted as he inspected the damage. His arm was covered in blood, with several puncture wounds leaking more out. Because it was a werebeast's bite, it was going to take longer to heal but Dillon seemed confident that it wouldn't leave a scar. The older were-lion wasted no time in sending Harry back off to Hogwarts, telling him that he would deal with the mess.

Harry trudged back up to the school, walking instead of taking the portkey seeing as it was easier than going all the way back to the clearing. He was careful to avoid any teachers or prefects out patrolling, sticking to the shadows and letting his enhanced senses act as early warning sensors. It was relatively easy to get back to the Gryffindor common room, and he saw Ron, Hermione and Katie waiting by the fire as promised.

Katie was the first to notice, and she leapt up from her seat and dashed towards Harry before slamming into his body, pulling him into a hug tight enough to rival Mrs Weasley's.

"You were gone a lot later than normal, we were worried that something bad had happened," said Ron. Harry looked over at him before showing him his injured arm. Ron's eyes widened in surprise, while Hermione gasped.

"Harry! You're hurt!" she exclaimed. Katie quickly released Harry and looked him over, then she too gasped when he saw his bleeding forearm.

"You wouldn't happen to have any Essence of Dittany on you, would you?" asked Harry ruefully. Katie led him over to the chairs and pushed him gently down while Hermione handed him a small glass bottle to him. Harry unstoppered the bottle before pouring a small amount over his wounds. The effect was instantaneous; the wounds began to slowly yet visibly stitch themselves back together as the bleeding stopped, and Harry sighed in contentment.

"What happened?" asked Ron.

"Bloody werewolf got a lucky hit on me," grunted Harry.

"A werewolf?!" exclaimed Hermione while Katie's face turned pale.

"Yeah, Fenrir Greyback," affirmed Harry. now it was Ron's turn to turn pale.

"What were you doing fighting Greyback?" asked Rob once he recovered.

"Dillon learned that Lupin had gone undercover within the werewolf community to see if Voldemort had planned anything," explained Harry. "He found out that Voldemort was sending a pack of werewolves led by Greyback to spy on Hogwarts and if possible, turn a few students. But Dillon and I went hunting them tonight and fought them."

"Well that explains the letter," said Hermione thoughtfully. "How many of them were there?"

"Nine," answered Harry.

"Nine?!" repeated Ron in surprise.

"Yeah, it was almost too easy," said Harry. "We got eight of them before we let Greyback go to tell Voldemort what happened." He was proud to see that none of them flinched anymore at the use of the Dark Lord's name anymore.

"What do you mean, 'you got eight of them?'" asked Katie cautiously.

Harry winced slightly. He was going to have to tell his closest friends that he had killed three werewolves tonight, and though they were mindless beasts now, in the morning they would have been people, men and women.

"We killed them," he said, a little more bluntly than he intended. Hermione and Katie gasped, but Ron looked grim as the news settled on them.

"Harry, how could you!" said Hermione accusingly. "They were people!"

"They were also part of Greyback's pack, which means that they wanted to be there and kill people Hermione," defended Harry a little harshly.

"Harry's right Hermione. People like Greyback are monsters, I'd put them on the same level as You-Know-Who," added Ron. "When you think about it, Harry and Dillon were just putting down some rabid animals."

"But- but they were people!" argued Hermione, and Harry could feel her conflicting emotions. Now that the adrenaline of the hunt and battle had died down, he was starting to feel a little disgusted with himself also.

"I think if Harry had the choice, I don't think he would have killed them," said Katie quietly, looking at Harry like she wanted to believe it. And she was right, Harry never wanted to kill those werewolves, but it was something that had to be done in order to protect everyone in Hogwarts.

Harry also had a sneaking suspicion that those weren't going to be the last lives he took before this war was over.

 _A/N- Okay, this time for real. See ya in a year!_


End file.
